Summer Nights
by Nytel
Summary: Neither of them had been expecting anything other than a normal summer break. Pre-mini AU fic. KaraLee.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Lieutenant Lee Adama wearily jammed his key into the lock of his apartment door. With only a slight movement of his wrist, the deadbolt slid open, and he opened the door to step through. He kicked it shut behind him with one foot while balancing all of his weight on the other. Without really thinking about it, he placed his bag on the table beside the door. The quiet thump of textbooks hitting wood, muffled only by cloth, was the lone sound in the small space.

He then toed off his boots, letting them sit askew on the floor. For once he was actually too tired to bend down and straighten them. Instead he headed over to the small fridge and pulled out a beer, not even bothering to turn on any of the lights. Picon summer days were long, and even though it was nearing 21:30 there was plenty of light shining past the blinds covering the two windows.

Lee flopped down onto his couch, the only piece of furniture other than the desk in the room. He didn't normally find it that comfortable, but after the kind of day he'd had it felt wonderful.

It was the last week of the term at the Academy and that meant exams, lots of exams. His most recent had been for his tactical course. He hadn't found the exam that hard, but it was probably because he'd spent hours upon hours studying for it. The best part about the exam was that it had been his last one. Well, he had a practical flight test the next day, but that didn't really count.

Flying came naturally to him and he didn't even need to prepare for that test. It wasn't arrogance; it was just the plain and simple truth. They had the list of maneuvers that they would be performing and Lee had mastered all of them a long time ago. Lots of other students would be using the sim rooms, possibly all night long, just so they could prepare. Lee knew that his time was better spent doing something else, like sleeping, and that way it freed up more space for others to practice.

Sleeping. Lee sighed as he realized that was the best thing he'd thought of all day. With a groan he twisted the cap off his beer and raised it to his lips, downing nearly two thirds of it without taking a breath. He wished he could sleep, but he had one very important phone call to make before he could. It was one that he'd been putting off for weeks.

He finished off his beer before he pushed himself up off the couch, and walked across the room to the desk. Lee stared at the phone for a few moments before letting out a sigh and picking it up. He'd left this until the last possible second, and it wasn't something that he could opt not to do at all.

He dialed the familiar numbers and then he waited, the phone pressed tightly against his ear. After two rings he heard the subtle click that meant someone had picked up.

"Hello?" came the soft feminine voice over the phone.

"Hi," Lee said quietly, turning so that he could lean back against the desk.

"Lee?" the woman questioned, her tone a mixture of surprise and happiness. "I haven't heard from you in a long time. How are you? Is everything all right?"

Lee sighed. This wasn't going to be easy. "Yeah Mom, but there's something I need to tell you."

* * *

She'd taken it better than he'd expected, although she still wasn't happy about his decision. He didn't expect her to be though. He doubted that any mother wanted to know that their son wouldn't be returning home during their summer break from school. But Lee just couldn't, not when he knew that his father would be there.

As soon as he'd heard that the Galactica was due in for a three-month overhaul during a time that coincided directly with his summer break, he'd started looking for a place to stay. If he didn't find a place, he could have always stayed at his apartment on campus, but that was his second to last choice of places for where to spend his vacation. He needed a break from anything and everything military, at least for the next two and a half months.

The solution to his problem had come with a phone call from an old friend. Michael had called him up a few weeks back and had asked if he had plans for the summer. They hadn't seen each other in a year, but had managed to keep in touch as much as they could, given that Lee was in his first year at the Academy and Michael was in his first year of med school. When Lee had mentioned that he was looking for a place to stay during the summer, Michael had been quick to offer him the spare room at his house, or more accurately his father's house.

They'd made plans and everything was all set, with the exception of Lee telling his mom that he wouldn't be coming home. But having done that, Lee was now free to pack up anything he needed and head off to Caprica as soon as his flight test was over the next day. He'd catch an interplanetary shuttle to the spaceport in Caprica City, and then he'd catch another shuttle to Delphi. From there it'd only be a cab ride to Michael's place, and consequently his summer refuge.

* * *

Less than eighteen hours later, Lee was boarding a shuttle at the Picon spaceport. It was due to leave for Caprica within the next thirty minutes and all of the passengers were just settling in. He had only bought his ticket minutes before, and had therefore paid quite an extreme price, but he didn't care.

Glancing down at the slip of paper, Lee made his way down the main aisle to row twenty-two. Seat number one, it was a window seat. He slid in past the empty space and sat down in the plush chair. The Colonial Heavy passenger liners were definitely nice ships.

Lee made himself a bit more comfortable before looking out the window. Rain was drizzling down, but it wasn't enough to delay his flight and for that he was grateful.

He thoughts briefly drifted back to his phone conversation from the previous night. His mom had been disappointed, but at least she understood. After the way he had left things with his father it was better that he didn't see him any time soon. Their fight had been… vicious. That was the first word that came to mind. Lee still wasn't sure what had caused him to lose control like he had. But years' worth of anger had come directly to the surface, and looking back on it, Lee was surprised that it hadn't ended with an exchange of blows.

Lee was just glad that Zak hadn't been there to witness it; if he remembered correctly he'd been over at a friend's house or something. His little brother looked up to him, and Lee always did his best to emulate the best kind of man that he could, but when it came to their father… Lee couldn't be the better man.

Unfortunately his mother had been present, and if he could have, Lee would have spared her that. He didn't want her getting caught up in something that wasn't her fault, but she had anyway. He still remembered the horrified look on her face as he'd stood toe to toe with his father in the living room, yelling at the top of his lungs.

He remembered the look on his father's face too, especially when Lee had pointed out every single one of his flaws. Lee was certain that he had never seen his father so angry. There had been an element of surprise on his dad's face. Lee knew it was because his father had finally realized that Lee had grown up.

Their fight couldn't finish with a reprimand and a trip to his room, followed by an intense grounding. His father couldn't control him anymore. He'd finally gotten the chance to see that first hand, along with a look at what kind of person his son had become while he was off chasing shattered dreams.

That had been nearly five months ago now, but that didn't mean Lee was ready to face him again. Actually, it was quite the opposite. Having spent five months with the memories of their fight nagging at the back of his mind, Lee had only grown more bitter about it.

The thing he regretted most about not being able to go back was that he wouldn't have a chance to see his mother or Zak. He hadn't seen either of them since his semester break; he'd just talked to them on the phone, and only a few times at that. Zak had even asked about why Lee had packed up his stuff and left before his break was over, but Lee wouldn't tell him. Zak was smart though; he'd probably figured most of it out.

He knew that his brother would be disappointed that he was not coming home for the summer, but it was for the best. Plus, he was staying on the outskirts of Delphi, which wasn't too far from Caprica City and his house. Zak could catch a shuttle down there and meet up with him if he wanted to.

Just then, Lee heard the unmistakable sound of the engines being turned on. He turned to look back in toward the cabin of the ship and sure enough, all the passengers had stopped milling about and were sitting in their seats. There was an older woman, maybe sixty, sitting next to him. She had already closed her eyes, and Lee figured that she was probably asleep.

Lee only half listened to the pilot's welcome and safety announcements as they filtered through over the intercom. It wasn't anything he hadn't heard before. When the pilot was done talking, Lee felt the vibration of the engines preparing for take off. He repositioned himself in his seat again, getting comfortable for the upcoming flight.

* * *

Lee awoke with a start upon hearing the pilot's voice over the intercom.

"Attention all passengers, this is your pilot speaking. We've just entered into a stable orbit around Caprica and we'll begin our descent to Caprica City within the next few minutes."

Turning his head, Lee saw that sure enough, they were in orbit around the planet. He could barely make out the outlines of the continents, seeing as Caprica City and the surrounding area was just experiencing sunset. With a sigh, Lee pushed himself upright in his seat, having slouched down when he slept. His neck was a bit sore, so he twisted it from side to side, trying to relieve some of the tension. It wasn't from his sleeping position, but from his flight test earlier that day; something that seemed to have occurred weeks ago.

By the time the ship landed in the capital city, Lee was fully awake. Even though it was just after 22:00, the spaceport was filled with the hustle and bustle of people. Lee picked a route through the crowd and made his way over to the luggage retrieval area.

Nearly half an hour later, duffel bags in hand, Lee exited the spaceport. There were no other shuttles leaving for Delphi that night, so he'd find a hotel and then leave in the morning.

* * *

Lee was in Delphi by 9:00 the next morning. It didn't take him nearly as long to get his luggage as it had the previous night, and before he knew it he'd hailed down a cab and was telling the driver where he wanted to go.

When he'd contacted Michael the night before to let him know when he was arriving, he'd offered to come and pick him up at the spaceport, but Lee told him he'd just catch a cab. He didn't want to seem like a burden.

The drive was long and it took Lee directly through the heart of the city. It was only as they were driving through that he realized how much Delphi had changed since he'd last been there. Thinking back on it a bit more, Lee realized that he hadn't been there in nearly eleven years, not since he'd lived there.

They had moved there when Lee was maybe three or four, and Zak was just a baby. His father had been bound and determined to find a way back into the military after the war had ended and he figured that Delphi, being home to one of the largest military bases of the colonies, was a good place to start. In the end it turned out he was right.

After nearly six years of working on civilian freighters, Bill Adama had managed to get himself reinstated into the Colonial Fleet. Lee didn't know the specifics on how his father had managed it; he only knew that that's when things had turned bad for his family. Working on freighters had at least allowed his father to be at home quite often, but that wasn't the case with work on a battlestar.

As the cab drove past the Delphi Museum of the Colonies, Lee couldn't help but smile. It was on a school field trip there that he'd become friends with Michael. He had been in year four of school and they'd been paired up for the day. Something about making sure none of the students got lost. Lee didn't even remember exactly how they had become such fast friends, but they had. And after that they had always seemed to be at each other's houses, doing whatever it was ten year old boys did.

They were inseparable for the better part of three years, and then Lee's parents had announced that they were moving to Caprica City. There was a private junior high school there that both his mother and father had wanted him to attend. He'd had no choice but to agree.

He'd spent most of his last summer in Delphi at Michael's place, and they'd had a great time. Lee vaguely remembered that that was the summer Michael's half-sister had come to live with him. She'd barely even talked to them and Lee honestly couldn't remember much more than that. But seeing as that had been eleven years ago, he wasn't surprised.

In the fall he'd moved away and Lee hadn't seen Michael again until year ten when he moved to Caprica City to attend the same private high school as Lee. Michael had stayed with his mother who lived in the city, and for those three years they were the same best friends they had been before.

After that they had gone their separate ways. Lee went to university on Picon and Michael stayed to get his science degree from Caprica University. They'd managed to keep in touch and had seen each other occasionally. If Lee remembered correctly the last time had been when Lee flew in to Caprica to see Michael get his degree.

It was nice and Lee was glad that he'd been able to make it. Besides Michael's father, Lee had been the only person there to see him graduate. About a year before that Becky, Michael's mom, had died from cancer and his sister had also absent, something about a knee injury keeping her in the hospital.

Lee was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't realize they had made it into the country surrounding the city until the ride became more bouncy, and he heard the ting of gravel hitting the underside of the cab. Looking around, he recognized the less traveled road and smiled, knowing that he would be there in less than five minutes.

The cab driver pulled up the long driveway to the house and parked when he got to the top. Lee paid the man with a handful of cubits before opening the door and sliding out, bringing his two duffel bags with him.

As the cab was turning around and driving away, Lee took a few moments to take in the sight. The acreage looked exactly the same as he remembered it. Everything from the sparse trees over to his left, which he knew grew thicker the further in you walked, to the open field that he could just see peeking out from behind the house. He nearly laughed as he saw that the old tire swing was still hanging form one of the larger trees in the yard.

Delphi might have changed a hell of a lot in the past eleven years, but the Thrace house had stayed the same.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Less than a minute later Lee found himself standing on the back porch, knocking on the door. He shifted the duffel bags higher up on his shoulder while he waited. It wasn't long until the door opened to reveal Michael Thrace.

Lee quickly took in his friend's appearance – blonde hair, fit, slightly tanned and half a foot taller than him – exactly the same as a year ago.

"You made it," Michael said, beaming at him.

Lee nodded and found himself smiling too. "In one piece too."

Michael laughed heartily as he reached out to grab one of the duffel bags before moving aside and motioning for Lee to come inside. "It's good to see you."

"You too." Lee made his way through the door before taking off his sandals. "Where should I put these?" he asked somewhat unsurely as he indicated the duffel bags.

"Come on," Michael said as he closed the door.

Lee followed him out of the boot room, through the kitchen and into the spacious living room. Michael pointed at the stairs on the far side of the room. "Up and then second door on your right."

"Thanks." Lee reached over and took the second bag back from Michael.

Just as he started to climb the stairs he heard, "Have you eaten yet?"

Lee turned around and looked at Michael, shaking his head slightly. "No, just some coffee at the hotel."

"Good, me neither. I'll make omelets or something." And with that, Michael made his way back into the kitchen.

Lee smiled as he walked up to the second story of the house. He noticed some pictures on the wall. There were a couple of Michael, one of which was taken at his graduation ceremony. The rest were pictures of Miles Thrace, Michael's dad. He was a concert pianist, and sometimes conductor, so most were of him in a suit shaking hands with some well-known music composer or another.

Lee entered the guest room and tossed his bags onto the spare bed. A second later he caught a whiff of burning food and realized that he must have gotten caught up in looking at the photographs. He hurried back down to the kitchen only to find Michael scraping charred eggs into the kitchen sink. Lee couldn't help but laugh.

"Still can't cook."

Michael shook his head. "Apparently not. I guess too many years of living off a dining card has taken away any talent I might have had."

"Talent huh?" Lee moved toward the sink and took the frying pan out of Michael's hand. "I'll do it."

Michael tossed his hands up in the air and moved away. "Fine. I was trying to be the good host, but if you're volunteering…"

"Well," Lee said in a mock-serious voice. "We can either eat real food, or…" He paused as he used the spatula to push around the last of the eggs in the pan. "Or we can eat _this._" He grinned knowingly.

* * *

Recognizing that she wasn't far from her house, Kara pushed her body past the anaerobic threshold and broke into a sprint. Her muscles strained as she used up what little reserves she had left after her three hour run. Fatigue threatened to overtake her, but instead of giving in she pushed harder, determined that she wouldn't lose any of her fitness over her summer break from the Academy.

When she broke free of the path through the trees and into the field that spread out behind her house, Kara slowed to a jog. Her muscles were screaming at her to stop completely, but she kept going, knowing that if she didn't they would cramp up.

Years of pyramid training had permanently engrained knowledge of fitness and exercise into her brain. As much as she'd hated learning it at the time, instead intent only on being on the court, she was thankful her coaches had drilled it into her. Years of balancing rigorous exercise schedules with the stress of playing amateur ball had prepared her well for the Academy. Most students found it hard to adjust to staying fit enough to fly while balancing their classroom work, but that hadn't been the case for her.

She smiled—it also helped that flying had come naturally to her. There were a lot of good, and even great, pilots in her year, but she was the only one who'd known instinctively what to do the first time she sat in a cockpit. Thinking about it still sent a shiver down her spine—she'd never felt better than when she was flying. It shocked her at first, especially given that for years she'd thought that pyramid would be her life, but she had quickly grown used to it.

Wiping sweat from her brow, Kara slowed to a walk. Briefly looking up at the sky she saw the sun making its way towards zenith and she cringed. There wasn't a cloud in sight and that meant it would be another scorching Caprican summer day. She just hoped that Sam hadn't been lying when he told her he was having an air conditioner installed in his apartment.

A sly grin crossed her features—they were sure going to need it, especially if they followed through with the plans she'd made for the rest of the day. It'd been over a month since she'd seen her boyfriend. She'd been busy at the Academy and Sam had been away at a pyramid tournament on Tauron, but now that he was coming back, she was going to give him the best homecoming of his entire life.

* * *

Michael stood up and cleared their two plates from the kitchen table, leaving Lee free to lean back in his chair and just lounge.

"Thanks again. If you hadn't cooked, we probably would have starved."

Lee laughed. "No problem."

Michael stopped by the fridge on his way back from the sink. Lee watched as he opened it and fished around inside for something. Standing up, he pulled out two beers. He held one in Lee's general direction with a questioning look on his face.

"It isn't even noon yet."

Michael shrugged as he kicked the fridge door shut with his foot. He twisted off the caps from both bottles and placed one in front of Lee. "Yeah, but it's summer break. We can do _whatever_ we want, even if that includes drinking beer right after breakfast."

Lee reached for the bottle and took a drink. "Can't argue with you there." He waited until Michael was seated before asking, "So, how was the first year of med school? As hard as everyone told you it would be?"

Michael groaned and nodded. "That and so much harder. I thought everyone who warned me was over exaggerating. Apparently I was wrong."

"That bad?" Lee gave him a surprised and questioning look as he took another drink.

Michael shrugged. "It was hard, but not bad. I really love it."

His response didn't surprise Lee—Michael had wanted to be a doctor for as long as either of them could remember, and Lee hadn't expected that the first year of med school would change his mind.

"What about you? First year at the Academy was…" He left it for Lee to fill in the blank.

"Exactly as I expected," he stated plainly. "I've heard enough stories from my Dad."

"But did you like it? I know you never really wanted to go."

Lee shrugged. "I didn't, but flying is… I don't know how to explain it." He found himself smiling. "It's enough to make everything else worth while."

They talked for a long time, about anything and everything. Lee could feel months' worth of tension draining away, and it was a relief. He knew he'd made the right decision by coming here.

Eventually they got back to the topic of school, and Michael informed him that he'd managed to get elected as VP of the medical student's association at Caprica University.

"That's great," Lee said earnestly. "Sounds like a lot of work though."

Michael nodded before finishing off his beer. "Yeah, it is. But it's great too. Actually, I have to head to Caprica City a few times this summer because of it. There are some meetings and events. You can come if you want, or stay here. It's up to you."

Lee nodded, glad that Michael wasn't pushing him into going to visit his family. "I'll see." It was a lie; Lee already knew that he wouldn't be going, not if it meant possibly seeing his father.

Michael opened his mouth to respond, but closed it again when he heard the back door open and shut.

"Your dad?" Lee asked, half-peering around Michael in order to catch a glimpse of the door, but unfortunately he was at the wrong angle.

Michael shook his head, looking slightly confused. "Didn't I tell you? Dad's on tour for the entire summer."

Before Lee could reply, a woman walked into the kitchen. He tried not to stare, but it was hard given that she was wearing only a sports bra and a very tight fitting pair of spandex shorts.

She walked past the table, completely ignoring them. Lee tried to stop himself, but his eyes were drawn to her very fit form, most especially her toned ass. He couldn't tear his eyes away as she opened the fridge and reached in to grab a water bottle, bending over slightly in the process.

"Hey Kara, pass us two beers while you're there."

Kara… the name sounded familiar. _Frak! _That_ was Michael's sister?!_

She turned to glare at Michael. "Get them yourself, frak-head."

"Thanks," he replied sarcastically as he got up and grabbed the beers before sitting back down at the table. "Hey, you remember Lee. I told you he was staying here over break, right?"

Kara gulped down the rest of the water. "Nope, I guess it must have slipped your mind." She tossed the empty bottle in the sink and headed for the living room. Lee found his gaze following her the entire way out.

"Lee!"

"Huh?" he said, whipping his head around to look at Michael.

"You okay?"

Lee nodded.

"Oh my gods!" Michael exclaimed, sound half-disgusted. "You were checking her out!"

"No I wasn't," Lee lied convincingly as soon as he realized that was exactly what he'd been doing. "I was just trying to figure out how that's the same tomboy I met all those years ago."

Michael eyed him somewhat suspiciously, but seemed to accept Lee's explanation. "Kara might look different now, but I can guarantee you that she hasn't changed much."

Lee wasn't sure if that was reassuring or not, especially when he couldn't remember a single thing about her.

* * *

Kara tried, but she couldn't shake this odd feeling that Lee gave her. She wasn't even sure what it was. She did remember Lee, even though it'd been years since she'd seen him. Plus Michael talked about him all the time, though somehow he had forgotten to mention that he'd be staying with them. It pissed her off, but only because Michael never seemed to find it important to tell her anything. She thought that after years of it she would have gotten used to being left out of the loop, but apparently not.

Determined to forget about both of the men sitting in the kitchen, Kara made her way up the stairs. She noticed that the normally empty guest room next to hers was in fact being used. The slightly ajar door revealed two bags sitting on the bed.

Ignoring them she entered her room and yanked open the closet, searching for some clean clothes. Finding something comfortable, she grabbed the outfit and a towel before heading to the bathroom. Quickly glancing at the clock on the wall she realized it would have to be the quick shower if she planned on making it to Sam's place in time to surprise him.

* * *

Lee found himself only half invested in the rest of the conversation. His mind kept wandering back to Kara, and it didn't help when he heard the spray of water turn on in the upstairs bathroom. For some reason his imagination kept feeding him images of her in the shower.

Part of him was disgusted by the idea of having impure thoughts about his best friend's sister, but another part reminded him that Kara was Michael's _half_-sister, and that Lee hadn't gotten laid in a long time. He almost groaned out loud as he realized exactly how many months it'd been. This was going to be one hell of a long summer vacation.

Lee was about to suggest that they go to the bar later, hoping that it might help him with his predicament, but before he could Kara burst into the kitchen. Lee did a double take as he took in her appearance. It wasn't the shorts she was wearing, but the standard military issue double tanks that caught his attention.

"I'm off," she announced as she grabbed a pair of keys off the countertop.

"Where are you going?" Michael questioned. "I thought you didn't start your job until next week."

Kara paused just long enough to roll her eyes and say, "I don't." She sounded slightly exasperated. "Sam's coming home today." A grin spread across her face, reminding Lee of a predatory cat. "Don't wait up."

Michael snorted in response. Then the next thing Lee knew she was out the door and only a second later he could hear the sound of an engine starting, and a vehicle pulling out of the driveway.

"So, uh, who's Sam?"

Michael shook his head and took a drink of his beer. "Samuel T. Anders. Kara's boyfriend."

"So, he's military then?"

Michael looked at him like he had two heads. "You don't know who Samuel T. Anders is?"

Lee shook his head. "No, should I?"

Michael laughed and Lee tried not to feel insulted. "You really don't follow pyramid, do you." It wasn't a question. "He's the C-Bucks' star player, and the most played rookie in the pro league." He paused for a second. "Why did you think he was military?"

"Kara was wearing military issue tanks."

Once again Lee received the odd look from Michael. "That's because she's in the military."

Lee's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "She is?"

"I can't believe I didn't tell you," Michael said. "Kara just finished her first year at the Academy. She's a viper pilot."

* * *

Kara made it to Sam's place in good time. She let herself in with the extra key he'd given her. Looking around the spacious apartment, it was obvious that no one had been there in quite some time. It looked anything but lived in, and she was determined to change that.

Kicking off her sandals, she made her way over to the couch and flopped down. Sam's shuttle would be landing in only a few minutes, and it wouldn't be more than another half-hour before he made it back to his apartment.

Kara silently urged him to hurry up. She wanted to see him and she needed to think about something other than those intense blue eyes that she was seeing every time she closed her own, the ones that formed a knot of pleasant tension deep in her lower belly. She was horny, that's all it was. A month without getting laid would make anyone react like that, or so she managed to convince herself.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** (The one I forgot to put in the first chapter)

This is a fic I've been working on since... July 2006. Until now I haven't had the time to devote myself to it, but I figure if I still feel this passionate about it after so long, I should not waste any more time. My goal is to update once a week, and I promise you I'll do everything I can to stick to that, and if possible even update more frequently. Unfortunately my job involves traveling a fair bit, so I can't absolutely guarantee weekly updates. But anyway, having said all that, onto the fic!

**Chapter 3**

Kara didn't have to wait much longer until she heard the sound of a key in the lock. She pushed herself off of Sam's couch and practically bounced toward the entrance of his apartment.

"Hey," she said through a grin as the door opened to reveal her boyfriend.

Sam's eyebrows shot up in surprise and he stopped halfway in, a weird look on his face. "Kara… What are you doing here?"

She felt the smile slide from her face—she'd been expecting a bit more of a warm welcome than this. "I'm surprising you."

When Sam continued to simply stand there and stare at her, she began to feel uneasy. "Whatever," she said quietly as she turned to look for her sandals. "I'll see you later I guess."

Her words seemed to affect him, because the next thing Kara knew she heard the soft thump of a duffel bag hitting the floor and felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her waist from behind. "Don't go," Sam murmured against her neck. She felt a small shiver run up her back from the vibrations of his lips against her skin. "I just wasn't expecting to see you. That's all babe."

"Yeah?" She felt the smile creep back onto her face as she turned around in his arms.

He smiled down at her. "Yep."

Kara slid one hand up to the back of Sam's neck, threading her fingers lightly in his hair. She pulled herself flush against him before bringing his head down to meet hers. It was times like this when she wished Sam wasn't quite so tall; it would make things so much easier.

But soon the thought was erased from her mind, because Sam's tongue was running along her lips, seeking entrance. She opened her mouth, more than happy to oblige, and her tongue pressed firmly against his.

The next thing she knew Sam was maneuvering the two of them across the room, and in hardly no time at all, Kara found herself naked and pinned between Sam and the couch. Her movements were frantic as she rushed to rid him of his boxers; the only thing left separating them. Sam wasted no time and angled his hips just enough to slip inside her.

Kara let out a small moan of pleasure. Sam began to move against her and her head tilted back as she arched her back, letting herself get lost in the wonderful sensation.

* * *

Hours later, just as the sun was beginning to set, Kara carefully pulled herself out from under Sam's arm so as not to wake him. It had taken them two tries to get to the bed, and once they had made it, they hadn't left.

A smug smile tugged at the corners of Kara's lips as she sat up and looked over the edge of the bed, trying to spot her clothes. Seeing nothing on the floor at all, she remembered that the garments were scattered somewhere between the door and the couch.

She slipped free of the covers and made her way to Sam's closet, which she opened as quietly as she could. It made a small squeak, but when she turned her head to look at Sam, he was still sleeping soundly.

Kara pulled out a T-shirt and a pair of training shorts. Once dressed, she headed for the kitchen. Her stomach was growling and she remembered that she hadn't eaten anything that day other than a nutrient bar before her run.

When she searched the cupboards she only found a few boxes of stale crackers. The fridge didn't yield any better results.

Staring at the contents of the fridge, Kara tried to figure out if she was really hungry enough to eat mayonnaise on crackers. She nearly jumped when she heard the creak of a floorboard. She looked up to see Sam walking into the kitchen, wearing only a pair of boxers.

"Whatcha doing?" He asked through a yawn as he came to stand behind her.

"You have no food," she stated, turning her attention back to the fridge.

"I was gone for a month." He stepped closer to her so that his chest was pressed up against her back. He leaned down to suck lightly on the spot where her neck met shoulder. "Besides," he whispered. "Who needs food?"

Kara smiled lightly at his words, but still pulled herself free from his grasp. Turning to face him she said, "I do. Maybe they fed you some fancy ass food on your flight, but I'm starving."

Sam groaned as he ran one hand through his sweat-dried hair. "Fine," he relented. "We can go grab a pizza, but then we're coming back here."

Kara's eyebrows shot up. "Excuse me?" She asked, bristling at his tone. She had to fight the urge to fold her arms in front of her chest.

"You know I didn't mean it like that, Kara," he stated firmly.

When she didn't say anything, and continued to stare at him, his expression softened. "Look, I'm sorry." He stepped forward and placed his hands lightly on her upper arms. "It's just that I start training again the day after tomorrow, and I want to spend as much time with you as I can before life gets crazy."

She nodded and let him pull her into a hug, but something felt off. It wasn't anything that she could place specifically, but the feeling was there.

* * *

Sometime that day, Lee and Michael decided that they would spend the evening hanging out and watching movies. In all honesty, Lee couldn't remember the last time he'd done that, though it had probably been with Zak. It made him regret not going home, just a little. He and Zak had always been fairly close, but ever since Lee had gone to college, and then to the Academy, they'd found less and less time to do things together.

"You seen this one?" Michael asked as he picked up a movie from the shelf at the rental store.

Lee read the title. "No."

Michael turned and gave him an odd look. "Have you seen any movies?"

Lee shrugged. "I told you, I've been busy all semester at the Academy."

"But _that _busy?" Michael didn't wait for an answer. He picked up another movie and held it up. Lee shook his head, not recognizing the title of that one either. "That's just sad, man."

"Oh, and you weren't busy?"

Michael added the two movies in his hand to another that he'd given Lee earlier. "Of course I was, but I still found time to do stuff that wasn't related to school." They started to walk towards the checkout. "Besides, I'm pretty sure Kara had the time to do a lot of crap. First year at the Academy can't be that trying."

"It is," Lee said through half-gritted teeth. "And maybe Kara did have a lot of free time, but how do you know she didn't do badly in her first year?"

They reached the line for the checkout and Michael reached into the pocket of his shorts for his wallet. "I thought I remembered Dad saying that she was doing well, but hey, maybe you're right. I have no idea."

Michael paid for the movies, and they left the building. The Delphi sidewalks were packed, not that it surprised Lee at all. Caprican summers, especially those close to the capital city region, were known for their almost unbearably hot days. It made sense that people would come out later when things were starting to cool down at least a little bit.

They walked south, heading for the pizzeria that was only two blocks down from the movie store. All they needed to do was pick up the pizza that they had already ordered and paid for, and then they were heading back to the acreage.

When they got close, Lee caught a glimpse inside—it was packed.

"What the hell?" Michael exclaimed when he saw the crowd too. "I know that this is a popular place, but I've never seen it this busy." It looked like a single person would barely be able to squeeze through to the counter. "I'll go," he said, turning to look at Lee. "It's probably safer."

Lee laughed. "Okay, I'll wait out here."

Michael left Lee waiting by the door. For a few minutes Lee just stood there and watched the people walking by. He hadn't been expecting to see Kara, but when he caught a glimpse of short blonde hair out of the corner of his eye and turned to look, there she was, walking towards him with a case of beer in hand.

While he was busy staring, she must have seen him, because she met his gaze and quirked her lips—it wasn't a smile, but it was a look of acknowledgement. Lee smiled at her.

"Hey," she said when she got close enough, stopping beside him.

"Hey." He looked at her for a second—she looked good, really good. "So, uh… I thought you were at your boyfriend's or something."

She nodded. "Yeah, but he has no food at his place," she said as she inclined her head towards the pizzeria. "What are you doing here, and why don't I see my brother anywhere?"

"He's in there," Lee explained, pointing towards the door.

Kara snorted. "Hope he has fun trying to get through the crowd."

"It's pretty busy," Lee commented casually.

Kara sighed. "It's just my luck that Sam and I picked the pizza place that's hosting the year end party for a high school pyramid team."

Lee gave her a questioning look.

"He's in there somewhere," she explained, a hint of something creeping into her voice. "Probably right in the frakking middle."

Lee felt a sudden surge of sympathy for her. She had seemed so excited before she left to go meet Sam, and only hours later he appeared to be ignoring her for some stupid pyramid fans.

They both turned to look at the door of the shop when it opened, tiny bells above the entrance ringing. A tall man with somewhat messy hair emerged sporting a stupid grin. Kara turned and looked at him.

He leaned down and kissed Kara on the cheek. If Lee hadn't been watching so closely he wouldn't have noticed the slight tensing of her body.

"Sorry about that babe," Sam said as he handed Kara the pizza box he'd come out with. "But you know how it is. Autographs to sign and all that."

"No, I don't know how it is," she replied sharply as she pushed the pizza box back into Sam's hands. "Let's just go, okay?"

Lee watched as Sam gave her a funny look, almost like he didn't understand why she was mad. "Okay, fine." He glanced at Lee, before turning back to look at Kara. "Aren't you going to introduce me?"

She rolled her eyes. "Sam, Lee. Lee, Sam."

"Nice to meet you," Sam said happily, holding out his hand.

Not wanting to seem rude, Lee shook it. "You too."

"Lee's a friend of Michael's. He's staying at our place for the summer."

"Oh yeah?"

"Uh huh," Kara said, not seeming at all enthused. "We should probably go before the pizza gets cold."

Sam smiled. "Or before more people ask for my autograph."

Lee thought he saw a glimpse of sadness highlight Kara's features, but only for a moment. "Yeah, that too," she said blandly. She turned to look at Lee. "I'll see you around."

"Yeah, I'll see you later."

She gave him an almost smile before walking away, and Lee nearly cursed himself when he felt his stomach do a small flip.

* * *

The next afternoon, Lee was in the kitchen of the Thrace house frying bacon when he heard the back door open. He gave Kara a smile when she walked out of the boot room and into the kitchen.

"Oh Gods, that smells good," she said as she plopped herself down in one of the chairs at the table. "Where's Michael?"

"Still sleeping. Do you want one?" Lee asked as he turned to look at her.

"One what?"

"B.L.T."

She grinned and nodded. "Yeah, I'm starving."

Lee turned back to the stove and flipped the bacon one last time before turning off the burner and leaving it to finish cooking. After digging out what he needed from the fridge he said, "So Sam really doesn't have any food in his apartment." He tried his best to keep his voice light.

Kara groaned. "Nothing."

Lee quickly made the sandwiches, and as he was reaching into the cupboard to grab two plates he heard, "I don't want a plate." So he pulled out only one, and walked over to the table.

Kara took her sandwich from his outstretched hand and didn't wait for even a second before taking her first bite. "This is good," she stated around a mouthful of food.

Lee held back a laugh as he sat down across from her and took a bite of his own sandwich. She was right; it wasn't too bad. When he was only half way done with his sandwich, Kara was finishing hers.

"Thanks," she said before swallowing the last bit.

"No problem."

When Kara didn't leave, and instead just sat there staring at him, Lee began to feel slightly uncomfortable. "So," he said breaking the silence. "You just finished your first year at the Academy, right?"

"Yep."

A few more moments of silence until, "Michael only told me yesterday."

Kara rolled her eyes, but Lee was pretty sure it wasn't at him. "Yeah, he doesn't find it that important to share information. You're at the Academy too."

It didn't really sound like a question, but Lee nodded anyway. Suddenly he realized that he knew hardly anything about her. It seemed stupid given that they'd be spending the entire summer living under the same roof. Maybe he could change that. "So you're a viper pilot."

Kara nodded. "Yeah, it's great."

Lee smiled back when he saw the look on her face. Only another viper pilot could truly understand how great it was. "It is."

Kara stared at him for a few seconds before asking, "So, what's your callsign?"

Lee groaned. "You have to promise not to laugh." If there was one thing he could have changed about his first year, it would be his callsign. Not only was it embarrassing, but it also made it also made him seem like he was perfect, something that he most definitely was not.

Kara raised one eyebrow. "I'm not promising anything."

"Fair enough." Lee sighed. "Apollo."

He wasn't greeted with the laughter he'd been expecting, but instead by a shocked look on Kara's face. "You're Apollo?" She asked incredulously, while looking like she was trying to hold back a smile.

He nodded, trying to figure out her reaction. "Yeah."

Then she laughed. "So you're the one who keeps trying to beat my sim records."

Lee felt his jaw drop open slightly as he thought back to the electronic top score board that was hung on the wall of the Picon sim room. Every week it was updated with the top scores from all of the first year pilots. Since each of the colonies' had its own division of the Academy, it meant that only about one twelfth of the names on the board were familiar to any one pilot. However, that didn't lessen the shock any. "Wait… You're Starbuck?!"

She grinned wickedly. "The one and only."

Lee's mind was still reeling over the information. "I can't believe it."

"What, that I'm a good pilot? Or that I'm a woman?" She questioned defensively.

"No," Lee said quickly, not sure why she was jumping to those conclusions. "It's just out of all the pilots in the Academy, my best friend's sister turns out to be the one who's my unknown rival."

Her grin was back. "I guess I'm not unknown anymore." With that she stood up and headed for the living room, leaving Lee thinking about what he'd just learned.

Not only was Kara a viper pilot, she was the best first year pilot in the Academy, out of all twelve colonies. Lee sighed as he leaned back in his chair—so much for leaving behind anything and everything military. But as he watched her leave the kitchen he couldn't help but smirk a little—maybe it wouldn't be _so_ bad.

* * *

Kara woke up to the harsh beeping of her alarm clock. She slammed it off and got out of bed. She didn't like getting up early, but it was the only time she could run in the summer without risking heat exhaustion.

She half wondered if Sam was up yet. He would be starting training with the team again today, which was why she was in her own bed in the first place. He hadn't wanted to get 'distracted', or so he'd said, so she'd come home yesterday afternoon.

As she changed into a sports bra and pair of running shorts her mind drifted back to the previous afternoon. She smiled. So Lee was Apollo. And laugh at his callsign? She wanted to roll her eyes. She was pretty damn sure she knew why it was his callsign, and it wasn't so much funny as fitting.

After finding her knee brace and putting it on, Kara made her way downstairs, trying to be at least somewhat quiet. When she made it to the boot room, she nearly jumped when she saw that she wasn't the only one awake. Lee was just finishing tying up his running shoes.

"You run?" she asked, half-whispering while she grabbed her own shoes from the floor.

Lee looked a little surprised to see her, but to his credit he didn't jump. "Yeah. You too?"

She nodded as she finished with her last shoe. "Where are you going?" She bit her tongue right after the words left her mouth. Why the hell was she asking him? She didn't care.

Lee shrugged. "Just down the road."

"Well, that's boring." Kara eyed him for a second. He looked like he could probably keep up… "Come on," she said, moving past him and opening the door. "I'll show you the trails."

* * *

Lee followed Kara, barely managing to keep up with her grueling pace. He had to admit; it was better than running down a gravel road and back. Kara's route took them through the trees by her house, and into what he suspected was their neighbor's property, though he could be wrong as he had no idea how much land they owned.

Eventually they were heading back in the direction of the house. Kara seemed to push on a bit harder, and Lee matched her pace. His sides were heaving and he could hear her breathing just as heavily. He probably could have caught up with her, but it was a narrow path, and it didn't hurt that he was thoroughly enjoying the view.

Lee thought the trees might be beginning to thin, and he was pretty sure he could see a field where they ended.

Kara looked over her shoulder at him, not breaking stride. "Race you to the field." Not waiting for an answer she took off.

Lee found himself grinning as he sprinted after her, determination fueling his steps.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The only thing that Kara could think of as she pushed herself to the limit, racing towards the field, was that Lee was surprisingly fast. She would have had to be blind to miss his amazing muscle definition, but it wasn't something generally accompanied by speed—a person usually had one or the other, at least most of the time.

Kara's lungs were burning inside her chest and all her muscles were screaming at her to stop, but knowing that Lee was close behind her only made her push harder—if she faltered for even half a second he would probably win.

They were nearing the end of the woods and the shortest way to the edge of the field was through a small gap between two trees. Glancing to her right she saw that Lee was almost neck in neck with her now, and from the direction he was heading it looked like they were both going to try and fit through the same narrow opening. She caught his gaze and smirked, knowing that he was thinking the exact same thing she was.

Seconds later they both somehow managed to leap through the two trees, but unfortunately the landing wasn't so amazing. They both tried to occupy the same spot, which resulted in a collision followed by a completely ungraceful tumble onto the grass. When Kara came to a stop she was sprawled out flat on her back, breathing heavily. When she heard Lee moan from somewhere to her left she couldn't help but let out a barking laugh, and once she started she couldn't stop. She had no idea why, but this was absolutely hilarious. In only a few seconds Lee had joined in and soon they were both laughing uncontrollably.

"Oh my Gods," she said eventually, once she'd regained enough breath to speak. "That was…"

"Yeah," Lee said in agreement as he pushed himself up off the ground.

Kara looked at him curiously when he leaned over her and offered her a hand up. In spite of herself she took it anyway, letting him pull her to her feet.

"Do you always run that hardcore?" Lee asked as he ran his hand over sweat-drenched hair.

Kara shook her head, causing a drop of sweat to bead and roll it's way down her spine. "Nah, I saved it especially for you," she lied.

Lee snorted back a laugh. "Right. So it was a special 'welcome to the Thrace house' present?"

Kara smiled. "Something like that, Apollo," she teased as she broke into an easy jog, heading for her house on the far side of the field.

* * *

Lee could have sworn that his muscles let out a sigh of relief when they reached the house. Running with Kara had been extremely fun, but it had also drained nearly every last ounce of energy he had. Lee considered himself a fit person, but that run had been intense enough that he had completely pushed himself to the max.

Lee nodded his thanks at Kara when they entered the kitchen and she tossed him a water bottle from the fridge. He downed it in one breath before walking over to the sink, filling it up, and downing it again. He was pleased to see Kara did the same—obviously the workout had been just as intense for her.

Just as Lee was filling up his water bottle for the second time, he heard the creak of the stairs, and a second later Michael walked into the room. He was wearing only a pair of shorts and his hair was disheveled. "Still not a morning person?" Lee asked.

"Gods, no," Michael responded strongly as he shuffled over to the counter and started to work on brewing a pot of coffee. "I see you still are though."

Lee shrugged and leaned against the counter. "Being in the military I think I'd be really screwed if I wasn't."

"I guess. But, man, it's only…" Michael glanced at the clock. "It's only nine thirty."

Kara laughed loudly. "That's so sad, Michael."

He turned to glare at her. "Bite me!"

Lee held back a laugh at the face Kara made before she chucked her empty water bottle at Michael's head, hitting him square between the eyes. "Oops," she said with fake sincerity. "I was aiming for the sink. Guess I missed."

Michael glared at her even harder, picking up the water bottle and throwing it back at her. Kara caught it with ease before tossing in a nice upward arc that had it landing directly in the sink.

"Hey, wait a second," Michael said, evidently forgetting about the bottle. "Why are you guys both here?"

"What do you mean?" Lee asked, even though he was pretty sure he knew where his friend was headed with this.

"I know that Kara runs religiously ever morning, something I will _never_ understand, but why are you dressed in gym clothes? Did you guys go running, _together_?"

Before Lee could answer, Kara rolled her eyes and spoke, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Oh my gods, you figured it out! Gold star for you." Then she turned and walked into the living room. A few seconds later Lee could hear her running up the stairs, followed by the sound of the shower turning on.

"Gods," Michael said as he went back to making coffee while muttering expletives under his breath about Kara.

Lee shifted uncomfortably. He knew Michael wasn't the colonies' best morning person, but his reaction seemed a bit extreme.

Michael eyed Lee suspiciously for a second. "What?" He asked in an irritated voice.

Lee shrugged, trying to seem like he didn't care. "Nothing. She's your sister after all."

"Half-sister," Michael corrected. "And yeah, I know." He flicked the switch on the coffee pot to on and leaned against the counter beside it, waiting for it to brew. "You don't have to go running with her you know," he added a minute or so later, as Lee was dropping his water bottle into the sink.

"I wanted to," Lee said truthfully.

Michael looked at him oddly, and Lee couldn't figure out if it was because he suspected something, or if it was just because he was confused. Lee hoped it was the latter. After all, he might have been checking Kara out while they ran, but it was innocent fun…

"Look," Lee said. "We're both viper pilots at the Academy. We both need to stay in shape over the summer, and if you want to run, the early morning is really the only option seeing as how hot it gets during the day. It just makes sense that we would go together."

Michael nodded. "You're right, I'm sorry. Gods, I'm really not a morning person am I?"

Lee laughed, relieved, and shook his head. "No, you aren't."

When Lee heard the shower turn off he left Michael with his evidently much needed coffee, and headed upstairs. Walking into the guest room he peeled off his sweat drenched shirt and grabbed a fresh set of clothes along with his towel. Hearing the door to the bathroom open, Lee stepped out into the hallway. He was just in time to see Kara walking into her room, wearing nothing but a bra and pair of underwear, the sight catching him completely off guard.

He tried not to stare, he really did, but it was impossible. The boy shorts cupped her ass nicely. And her bra… it wasn't anything fancy, not even slightly, but it showed off her breasts perfectly.

"Like what you see?" Kara's voice filled the air, snapping him out of his stupor.

Lee raised his eyes to look at her face, feeling his own flush slightly. But before he had the chance to speak, Kara smirked at him and closed the door to her room. Lee groaned under his breath as he entered the bathroom and closed the door behind him. He needed to get a grip on himself. Blatantly ogling his best friend's sister in the hallway… probably not the best plan in the world: firstly because she _was _Michael's sister, and secondly because she had a boyfriend.

Suddenly the next two and a half months seemed infinitely long, and Lee had a feeling he would find out just how good he was at resisting temptation.

* * *

After getting changed Kara grabbed her keys and headed out the door, ignoring her brother as she walked by. She hopped into her truck and backed down the driveway, heading into town. The roads were surprisingly free of traffic and she arrived at the C-Bucks' practice yard in less than twenty minutes.

That was good, because it gave her less time to think about what had happened in the upstairs hallway immediately before she left. It was almost like she could still feel Lee's eyes on her, which was stupid, because he was now miles away from her and she was on her way to see her _boyfriend_. Shoving those thoughts to the very back of her mind, Kara hopped out of her truck.

She had no problem making it past security and into the arena, as she was on a first name basis with all of the security workers there. Just as Kara took a seat near the top on the empty bleachers, the team began a complex passing drill. Their practice had to be nearing the end, because pyramid coaches were never nice enough to assign the hardest drill at the start; they always left it for later when everyone was exhausted and more likely to mess up.

Kara watched the team closely, her eyes honing in on Sam multiple times. They'd improved since the last time she watched them, and even then they'd been good. She didn't doubt they would make it into the finals of the playoffs later that year.

Eventually the drill ended and the team broke for water quickly before playing some three on three to end the practice. The moment the game started Kara felt a wave of nostalgia pass over her, and she wondered if she'd ever stop missing it. Most of the time it wasn't that bad, but when she was back at the court, she urge to play was almost overpowering.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of someone else at the bleachers. "Mind if I come up?"

Kara smiled at Jean Barolay and shook her head. "Nah."

Jean smiled back and climbed up to the row second from the top where Kara was seated, limping slightly.

Kara eyed her closely. "What happened to you?"

Jean sighed and brushed stray stands of auburn hair out of her face as she sat down. "Sprained ankle. It happened in the last game. Coach said he wants me to take it easy so I can play next week's game."

"Do you like it?" Kara asked quietly, unable to help herself.

Jean smiled. "Yeah, I do." After a second she added, "Look, I'm sorry I took your spot on the team. I know how much you wanted to play pro."

Kara sighed, closing her eyes briefly. "It's not your fault, Jean. You weren't the one who fouled in our last amateur game and took out my knee."

"Yeah, but we both know that out of the two of us, you should be the one playing for the C-Bucks. Hell, you were better than anyone in the amateur league last year. Even mister hot-shot Anders over there." And as if right on cue Sam pulled off a flashy move to score a goal.

Groaning, Kara said, "The fame has totally gone to his head, hasn't it?"

Jean rolled her eyes and leaned back on her elbows, stretching out on the bleachers. "Unfortunately."

Kara wondered if maybe that was all that was different about Sam—that he'd gotten a taste of fame and didn't quite know how to handle it yet. In a way she hoped that's all it was. On the other hand, it might also mean that this feeling about something being different wasn't going to go away any time soon.

After the practice was over the team grabbed their bags and started heading for the change room. Jean however didn't move, and was still lounging on the bleachers when Sam finally noticed Kara and made his way over.

"What are you doing here?" He asked as he climbed the bleachers two steps at a time. "Jean," he added a second later, acknowledging his teammate.

"Sam," Jean replied just a casually, not even opening her eyes.

"I was watching you practice, like you asked me to," Kara stated, not amused that he'd forgotten, especially since he'd asked her the day before.

Sam paused when he reached Kara and his face scrunched in confusion.

Kara folded her arms in front of her chest and stared at him angrily.

Sam smiled apologetically and leaned down to kiss her quickly. "Right, sorry." The apology didn't really serve to lessen her anger any. "Well I'm going to go hit the showers, but then we'll… go back to my apartment?"

"Sure," Kara said, trying to let her anger go.

Jean snorted, obviously trying to hold back a laugh, which both Kara and Sam ignored.

"Kay, I'll see you in a few," Sam said as he jogged down the stairs, heading for the change rooms.

Suddenly Jean couldn't hold it in anymore and started laughing.

"What?" Kara demanded, less than amused.

Jean sat up and shook her head, still trying to get herself under control. "Nothing. It's just…"

"It's just what?"

"All you guys must do is have sex."

Kara was beginning to smile in spite of herself. "Yeah," she admitted after a few seconds, which only caused Jean to start laughing again.

"Not that I can blame you," Jean added as they got up and started walking down the steps. "If I was dating someone that looked like that…. Hell, I don't think I'd ever leave my bed. Or his bed."

This time Kara couldn't help but laugh. "You really haven't changed Jean."

The redhead shrugged her shoulders. "Whatever. But seriously, it's gotta be good, right?"

"What?" Kara asked as they paused outside the change rooms.

"The sex. I mean, come on, Anders… I've seen him in the change rooms. He has to be good in bed."

Kara could only stare back, momentarily shocked by Jean's bluntness. She'd really forgotten how much fun Jean could be. "Oh my gods, you are so crude."

"Who's crude?" Sam asked as he exited the change room, seemingly having taken the fastest shower in history.

Jean laughed and shook her head. "Never mind." Then she added, "Hey, Thrace."

"Yeah?"

"We need to go to the bar sometime. You know, just like the old days."

Kara grinned, knowing exactly what Jean was talking about. They'd played on the same amateur league for four years and they'd spent many nights out getting drunk together. "Sounds like a plan, Barolay."

"Oh," Jean said as she opened the door to the change room. "And one more thing… Have good sex you guys."

Kara laughed at her crazy old teammate, and Sam looked back and forth between her and the now closed change room door. "What the hell was that about?"

Kara shook her head. "Nothing, let's just go."

* * *

It was early evening by the time Kara made it back to her place. She could hear a movie playing in the living room when she reached the porch. Not really feeling in the mood to watch TV, she plunked herself down on one of the deck chairs and pulled out a cigar from her pocket. The lighter followed and she lit it carefully before inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly. Feeling slightly more relaxed, she shifted so that she was slouched down lower, and propped her feet up on the railing.

Around dinnertime Sam had remembered that he needed to attend some interview thing, and had practically kicked her out of his apartment. She knew that there were a lot of press related commitments that went along with playing pro ball, but the way that Sam had been acting still seemed strange. It was probably just the fame… not that the knowledge was all that comforting.

Kara inhaled from the cigar again, before watching the slow rhythmic interplay of the exhaled smoke with the light breath of wind. Her eyes were so caught up in the patterns that she didn't hear someone approaching until seconds before she saw him. For some reason she couldn't help but smile as she saw Lee walk around to the porch from the front side of the house.

"Mind if I join you?" He asked.

Kara used one leg to kick a spare chair in his direction. "By all means."

He smiled at her as he sat down in the chair and propped his feet up on the railing in a similar fashion to hers.

Kara took the cigar out of her mouth and held it in his direction, raising her eyebrow in question. Lee reached over and plucked it from her hand, gently brushing her fingertips as he did so. The shock that ran up her arm caught her off guard, and she quickly moved to pull out another cigar from her pocket, hiding her reaction. She lit the second cigar and placed it between her lips, inhaling deeply again.

Suddenly the sound of swelling background music could be heard from inside the house, as well as muted dialogue from the movie that was playing.

"Didn't want to watch?" Kara asked, glancing sideways at Lee.

He took another drag from the cigar before answering, and Kara couldn't help but stare closely as he did so. "Not really," Lee answered, angling his head to look at her. "I went for a walk instead. You?"

"Just got home," she replied.

Lee quirked his lips in an odd looking half smile. "Were you at Sam's?"

Kara nodded before returning her gaze to the yard. "Or at least I was until he had some interview he remembered he had to go to."

"It must be hard," Lee commented.

Kara thought she could hear a trace of sympathy in his voice. She wasn't sure whether she liked that or not.

She shrugged her shoulders. "It's usually not too bad," she said truthfully. "For most of the year he was busy with pyramid and I was busy at the Academy, so it didn't really matter."

Kara snuck another sideways glance at Lee and saw that he looked surprised.

"How long have you two been dating?"

"Almost a year."

"Wow," Lee said slowly. "Congratulations."

Kara snorted. "Thanks." Not sure that she really wanted to be talking about Sam, she returned her attention to the cigar, savoring its flavor as it smoldered shorter.

It seemed Lee had other ideas. "How did you two even meet?"

Kara turned to face Lee as she talked. "Sam and I have known each other for a long time, mostly as rivals."

His face scrunched a little in confusion, making a slight crease in his forehead, directly between his eyes. It was kind of cute. "What do you mean?"

"We both played amateur pyramid at the same time. I was on the Delphi team for four years, and he was on the Caprica City team for five. At the end of last year's season we were both scouted to play for the C-Buck's this year."

Lee let his feet drop from the railing, and shifted so he was sitting upright in his chair. "You were drafted for the pros?" He asked, sounding impressed.

Kara smiled and nodded. "Yeah, and if I hadn't frakked up my knee I'd be playing right now."

Realization seemed to dawn on Lee's face and he said, "That's why you wear a knee brace."

It took Kara a second to remember that they'd gone running together earlier that morning, and that he'd seen her with it on. "Yeah."

"What happened?"

Kara sighed, not enjoying recounting this part of her past. "In our last amateur game of the season, Delphi was playing Caprica City for the cup. Five minutes into the game their biggest player fouled and tackled me, dislocating my knee. It was one hundred percent on purpose. They got a ten-minute penalty while I was forced to sit on the sidelines for the rest of the game. But by the last quarter, three more of our players were injured, all with concussions, and we didn't have any subs left."

"So you went on…" Lee said quietly, guessing where the story was headed.

Kara nodded. "So I played the last quarter. I mean, I taped my knee, but tape can only do so much."

Lee looked slightly amazed. "Wow. That's…impressive."

Kara shrugged. "Well, I wasn't going to let my team down."

"Did you guys win?"

Kara grinned broadly. "Hell yeah. Despite the fact most of their team played like dirty motherfrakkers, we still kicked their ass."

Lee grinned back at her.

"Anyway," Kara continued on, remembering that Lee hadn't asked to hear her history. "I ended up in the hospital for a week because I needed surgery. And while I was stuck in there, Sam came to visit me. He told me he was sorry I wouldn't be able to be on the C-Buck's anymore, and he apologized for his ex-teammate's behavior." Kara inhaled deeply from the cigar before saying, "And then things just kind of happened."

"So this was last summer?" Lee questioned, obviously wanting clarification.

Kara nodded. "Yeah. Why?"

Lee shook his head. "No reason. It just explains why you weren't at Michael's grad. I thought I remembered him or your dad saying something about you being in the hospital."

"I would have come, if I could have walked." She laughed quietly. "Oh well, from what I understand it was a pretty stuck up affair. Not really my thing."

Lee laughed and smiled at her. "Why does that not surprise me?"

Kara grinned back, and replied jokingly. "I have _no_ idea."

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Lee's jaw dropped open in shock. "No way," he said in disbelief.

Kara grinned at him from her chair next to his on the porch. "Yes, way."

Lee stared at the cards sitting on the small table between them, and although he was seeing them, he still couldn't believe it. "But you just had full colors three hands ago…"

Kara nodded, still grinning broadly, as she pulled her winnings towards her: a stack of candies they'd found in the cupboard earlier. "I had them then, and I have them now."

Lee shook his head. "That's crazy. No one has luck that good in cards."

He watched and had to hold back a laugh as Kara's eyebrows rose. "Are you accusing me of cheating, Apollo?"

He held his hands up in the air. "I'm not accusing anyone of anything, Starbuck. I'm just saying, your luck at cards is unnatural."

Kara shrugged before unwrapping one of the candies and tossing it in her mouth. "Call it whatever you want, but seeing as you claimed to be one of the best card players in your flight class, and I just totally kicked your ass, maybe it's more like skill." She leaned back in her chair and kicked her feet up onto the table, atop the cards, grinning victoriously.

Lee simply shook his head and smiled, leaning back in his chair as well. It's not like he had any 'money' left to play with anyway. They sat there in comfortable silence for a few minutes, while Kara ate a handful of her loot, occasionally tossing a candy in Lee's direction when she didn't like the flavor.

He almost couldn't believe that he'd only been at the Thrace house for one week. Flight school and end of the semester exams seemed like they were so long ago he almost had a hard time remembering which courses he'd taken. It was strange, he thought it would have taken a lot more effort to be able to relax during his vacation, but something about this place made it impossible to unwind.

As his eyes drifted back over to Kara, he couldn't help but smile. He couldn't be sure if it was more Kara than her house that was making him feel so stress-free. He had no idea what it was, but there was just something about her. The more time he spent with her, the more time he wanted to spend with her. In the past few days they'd gone from having an awkward conversation about callsigns in the kitchen to falling into an easy friendship.

Wanting to spend time with her probably also wasn't hurt by the fact that Kara was an attractive woman, very attractive. But if Lee was honest with himself that wasn't at all why he enjoyed her company. She was easy to talk to, full of life, fun… plus they seemed to mesh well. He wondered if she was just as surprised by that fact as she was.

Michael had made a few choice comments about Lee hanging out with Kara so much, but had in the end grudgingly accepted the fact that his best friend was becoming friends with his sister.

Kara tossed another candy at his head, which he caught without really looking, when they both heard the phone ring from inside. A second later Michael walked out onto the porch, his book in one hand and the cordless phone in the other. He passed the latter to Kara. "It's Sam."

She took it from him and cradled the phone between her ear and her shoulder while she leaned forward and began to pick up the cards. "Hey, what time do you want me to meet you?" She asked.

Lee watched Michael walk back inside, purposely trying _not_ to listen in on Kara's conversation, but it was hard seeing as she was right there.

"What do you mean?" He heard her ask angrily, and Lee couldn't help but look back at her. She looked mad, but not really surprised. "Sam…" She stopped talking for a second while she listened to whatever her boyfriend was saying. "And what, you're only remembering now?!" Another pause. "Okay, fine. Whatever. I'll talk to you later, I guess."

When she hung up the phone and looked up, Lee quickly glanced down at the remaining cards on the table. He scooped them up and passed them to Kara who had the rest. "Everything okay?" He asked tentatively.

Kara snatched the cards and stuffed them into the pack with the others. "Oh, everything's just great," she said sarcastically. "My asshole of a boyfriend has another interview he forgot about. It's not until tomorrow, but he's not ready, so he cancelled our frakking plans."

She stood up and headed towards the back door of the house; Lee was only a few steps behind her. "I'm sorry," he said sympathetically. It was the third time it had happened that week alone. Lee was getting sick of watching Kara get her hopes up only to have them squashed. He was beginning to dislike Samuel T. Anders more and more each day. Lee was hardly the most experienced person at meaningful relationships, but even he knew that what Sam was doing was stupid.

"Do you want to watch a movie or something?" Lee asked as he kicked off his sandals in the boot room before following Kara into the kitchen.

"No," she said firmly. She reached for her keys that she'd tossed on the counter earlier and turned back around so that she was facing Lee. "What I want is to tell my boyfriend to get his head out his frakking ass. Excuse me," she said, not waiting for a response before she pushed past Lee and back out the door. A second later he heard her truck start and the sound of gravel crunching under tires.

* * *

Kara had to force herself to go the speed limit as she headed into town; normally she wouldn't care, but she'd already had one too many tickets this year, and didn't need another. It was hard though, because she was beyond pissed and it made her foot feel like it was made of lead.

She understood Sam's love for pyramid, but she was tired of coming in second place to his newly found spot in the limelight. She thought that when they'd decided to go out for dinner, things were possibly changing—looked like she'd been wrong.

What made it even worse though, was that this issue was starting to make her realize how bad her relationship with Sam really was. It was like the one thing going wrong had suddenly painted everything in a new shade. What bothered her most, aside from Sam letting the pyramid fame go straight to his head, was that while she had no problems carrying on an extended conversation with say Lee, with Sam it was like pulling teeth. And it wasn't like they didn't have anything to talk about. They shared a lot of the same interests, including their love for pyramid, but yet she couldn't remember the last time they had talked for more than five minutes. It was something highlighted strongly by the fact that over the past few days her and Lee had talked more than she and Sam had in the past few months.

Kara had never been big into the whole 'share your secrets and soul' approach when dating, but she still needed some type of interaction with her boyfriend that wasn't a purely physical. The sex was great, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized Jean was right—all they did was have sex. When Jean had said it at the time, Kara had smiled, not realizing exactly how true that was. However, now that she had realized the truth… it was irritating her to no end. She had no idea what she was going to actually do when she got to Sam's place, but she couldn't just sit back and let things continue on the way they were, that much was certain.

* * *

Not long after Kara left, Michael convinced Lee to play video games with him. He really didn't have anything much better to do for the rest of the evening, so he'd agreed. They'd been playing this particular game on and off for the past week, and while Lee was normally really good at it, he suddenly found himself sucking.

"Oh!" Michael exclaimed happily. "And I beat you again."

"You did," Lee responded, trying to sound like he cared. The thing was, at this exact moment he didn't. His mind was on something else completely. Even though it was absolutely none of his business, he couldn't help but wonder what was going on at Sam's apartment. The man was an idiot for treating Kara the way he had, and she finally seemed fed up with it. Actually, fed up might be an understatement. She seemed like she was frakking pissed. Not that he blamed her.

An hour later, Lee called a pause to the game. "I think we need some beer if we're going to continue," he told Michael, who smiled at him, agreeing whole-heartedly.

Lee walked into the kitchen to grab two bottles from the fridge. Although he wasn't opposed to a beer right now, the reason he'd paused the game was not because he was thirsty. He was getting more and more distracted by the second. He wondered if Kara and Sam were making up at that very moment… His stomach twisted unpleasantly at the thought, but he shrugged it off. He had absolutely no reason to be jealous. Kara was his friend and that didn't give him the right to feel this way. Once again he wrote it off to the fact that he hadn't gotten laid in months—that was the explanation that made sense, not the alternative.

Lee was making his way back into the living room when he heard the front door fly open. The second he made it into the living room he saw Kara slam the door shut and storm across in front of him, heading for the stairs. He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could think of anything appropriate she was already up the stairs, and only a moment later he heard a matching sound of a door slamming from her room.

He looked at Michael, who shrugged his shoulders before turning his attention back to the TV.

"Is she okay?" Lee asked hesitantly as he passed Michael one of the beers and took his seat on the couch.

Michael glanced at him curiously. "Kara?"

Lee sighed—of course that's who he was talking about. "Yes."

Michael shrugged again before twisting the cap off his beer and taking a drink. "Probably."

"Are you going to go…"

"What? Check on her?" Michael laughed. "Man, she's probably fine. Kara has one hell of a bad temper. It doesn't matter what made her mad, it'll blow over in an hour. Trust me."

Lee nodded his head and picked up his video game controller, but he really wasn't sure. For the brief moment he'd seen Kara, she looked more than simply mad, and he doubted that in an hour she'd be back to fine.

* * *

Kara slammed the door to her room and walked towards her bed, not bothering to turn on the light. As she fished under her bed for the bottle of ambrosia she knew was there, she could only think one thing—how the hell had she been so stupid?

_Kara pushed her key into the lock of Sam's apartment door, not wanting to give him the option of not letting her in. They needed to either talk or fight, and either way it was happening now._

_Before she had the door pushed all of the way open she heard muted sounds coming from his living room. She nearly growled in frustration—that mother-frakker was watching TV?! He had _claimed _he needed to be getting ready for an interview, but he wasn't even doing that._

_She shoved the door the rest of the way open before shutting it behind her, hard. The sound was loud in the almost quiet apartment, but it didn't stay that way for long. A fraction of a second after the noise, Kara heard two girly screams, followed by the sound of Sam swearing loudly, and she could also make out the rustling noises of clothes._

_Kara felt like someone had just chucked a pyramid ball down her throat and deep into her stomach. _No, he wouldn't…

_She walked into the hallway and towards the living room, not willing to believe what the scene was telling her. The moment she stepped into the room however, her suspicions were confirmed, making her feel sick to her stomach. Sam was standing next to the couch, in only a pair of pants with the fly unzipped, and on the couch beside him were two ridiculously looking slutty girls wearing nothing but underwear that really wasn't leaving anything to the imagination. They were both staring at her in complete shock, neither of them even smart enough to even feign modesty._

"_Kara, babe, it's not…"_

_Kara whipped her head around to look at Sam directly. "Don't you dare say that it's not what it looks like," she spat out slowly, her voice dangerously low. "Don't. You. Dare." With each word she moved closer towards him, her footsteps echoing loudly in the otherwise now completely silent apartment._

_When she was standing directly in front of him, Kara pulled back and let her fist fly, putting everything she had behind it. The feeling of her hand connecting solidly with Sam's jaw made her want to wince in pain, but she knew that it had hurt him a hell of a lot more._

_Both of the bimbos screamed as Sam toppled over backwards, nearly knocked unconscious by the force of the blow. "It's over, Bastard."_

_Kara turned on her heel and rushed for the door, her anger at Sam suddenly being replaced by anger at herself. _How the hell had she been that stupid?!

Kara yanked the bottle of ambrosia out from under her bed and immediately twisted the cap off, tossing it across the room. Stupid, she'd been so frakking stupid.

Still kneeling next to her bed, Kara raised the bottle to her lips and downed as much as she could in one breath. It burned a bit, and she nearly choked, but that didn't stop her from drinking all that she could without pausing. Once the first large swig hit her stomach, she pulled herself off the floor and onto her bed. Propping her back against the headboard, she brought her knees up toward her chest, all the while still clutching the bottle of booze tightly in her hand.

She should have seen it coming, she should have. Her in a relationship for a year without screwing up? She laughed bitterly before downing another large portion of the bottle. It was a ridiculous thought. Now matter how good things were for her, she always found a way of frakking them up. Somehow she'd managed to push Sam away without even realizing it, causing him to cheat. She shouldn't be surprised though—she was too much trouble for what she was worth, no doubt that's why Sam had cheated on her. Gods, her mother was still right after all these years—she wasn't worth a thing, no matter how hard she tried.

Kara brushed away the single tear on her cheek and raised the bottle to her lips again.

* * *

If Lee had been sucking earlier, he was sucking horribly now. It had only been maybe fifteen minutes since Kara came back, but he couldn't stop thinking about the way she'd stormed past him. It was also bugging him that Michael seemed either totally oblivious to it all, or that he just didn't care. Thankfully Lee was saved by a phone call.

Michael paused the game and dashed for the kitchen, answering it before it hit its third ring.

"Hello," He said as he walked back into the living room. "Oh hi!" He smiled and mouthed the name 'Lisa' at Lee.

Lee nodded, remembering that Lisa was one of Michael's close friends from med school.

"So you and Carrie are going to be in Delphi for a few days?" Michael was silent for a second, obviously listening to Lisa say something. Then suddenly he laughed. "That would be awesome. Yeah, we should totally meet up." Another pause. "Alright, sounds like a plan. So, what have you been up to since exams ended?"

Lee stopped paying attention as the conversation turned to the normal every day-to-day topics. Michael sat back down on the couch and propped his feet up on the coffee table—it was clear that he would be occupied for a while.

Before Lee even knew what he was doing he was whispering an excuse to Michael about grabbing something from his room, and then his feet were taking him upstairs. He paused at the first door on the right—Kara's room. His hand was poised, ready to knock, but he wasn't sure that he should. Her door was closed, her light wasn't on, but he knew she was in there. She probably wanted to be left alone, but yet he couldn't resist the urge to make sure she was okay. It was crazy, but he let his hand fall against the door, knocking softly.

He wasn't really surprised when Kara didn't respond in anyway. He _should_ just go, and leave her be, but it was easier said then done, because the next thing he knew his hand was on the doorknob, slowly turning it.

"Go away, Lee," he heard her say before the door was even fully open.

He slipped inside, shutting it behind him, and it took a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the dim light. But when they did he could see Kara sitting hunched on her bed, with what looked like a bottle of ambrosia in hand.

"How'd you know it was me?" He asked quietly, suddenly feeling nervous. He'd probably just overstepped his bounds. He'd only _really_ known Kara for a week, and yet he was invading her space when she obviously wanted to be by herself.

Kara snorted and said bitterly, "Because Michael doesn't give a frak about me. He has never once checked to see if I was okay, after anything."

Lee wasn't sure what to say to that, and he didn't have to think of anything because Kara kept speaking.

"Just leave."

Lee shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. "I just wanted to make sure…"

"Get. Out."

Lee turned and reached for the door handle. "Fine."

* * *

The next morning Kara was woken by the extremely loud and grating noise of her alarm clock. It wasn't normally that bad, but the full bottle of ambrosia had given her a killer hangover. Moaning, she rolled over in bed, reaching for the alarm on the nightstand and slamming it off, while at the same time managing to knock the empty alcohol bottle off the bed. The sound of it contacting the floor made her wince and she willed her head to stop throbbing. Slowly, she pulled herself out of bed. She'd had worse hangovers in the past, but certainly not many. Gods, she felt like hell.

Reaching for the pill bottle on her dresser, Kara grabbed two extra strength painkillers, left over from her knee surgery, and swallowed them dry. Next she reached for her running clothes, which were still piled on the floor from the day before. She began to put them on.

Her mind was running through the events of the past night as she did so, and it took her longer than she'd care to admit to get everything straightened out in her head. A fresh wash of anger hit her—anger at herself mostly, and she swore under her breath. She really needed to run, clear her head, and hopefully it might make her feel slightly less like crap.

As Kara was halfway down the stairs, she suddenly remembered that Lee had come to check on her the night before, not long after she'd got back. She paused mid-step as she tried to remember the details. All that really came through was the memory of her demanding he get out of her room. Guilt twisted in her stomach. Gods, she'd been such a bitch.

She'd pushed away her boyfriend, and then less than an hour after it had ended she was working on driving away one of the few friends she had. Not that Lee and her had known each other for all that long, but she would still consider him a friend. Gods, she was like a hurricane, destroying everything in her path. She sighed in frustration and anger as she realized she'd probably lost her running partner for good.

Reluctantly she forced her feet to carry her the rest of the way to the kitchen and into the boot room. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw Lee kneeling on the floor, doing up his running shoes.

He glanced up at her. "Ready?" He asked quietly, not wanting his voice to carry upstairs to where Michael was still sleeping.

Still in shock, Kara muttered, "Yeah, just let me get my shoes…"

Once they were laced up, Kara followed Lee out the back door and onto the paths. Not having enough energy to protest, she let him lead. He took the same path they had the first time they'd gone running together. He set a good pace, but not as grueling as they had run in the past.

Since they weren't going as quickly, it took them nearly an extra half hour to make it back to the field. Kara couldn't help but smile, albeit weakly as they passed the trees they had jumped through before, colliding immediately afterward.

When they reached the field Lee slowed to a walk and Kara followed suit. They stretched in silence, and after they finished Lee headed for her house on the far side of the field at a good paced walk. Kara fell in step beside him, suddenly feeling like she should say something.

Five more minutes of silence had her blurting out, "I'm sorry."

Lee stopped and turned to look at her. "What?"

Kara stopped too, and faced him, but didn't meet his eyes. "I said, I'm sorry. About…"

Lee placed his hand gently on her shoulder, and the shock of the contact between them made her glance up and into his eyes. "It's okay," he said, and she could tell from his eyes that he meant it. She let out a breath of relief she was unaware she'd been holding.

"Are you okay?" Lee asked, letting his hand fall back to his side.

Kara opened her mouth to lie, but instead the truth came out. "I broke up with Sam."

Lee looked at her sympathetically. "I'm sorry."

Suddenly Kara found the story spilling out, and Lee listened intently while she talked, not missing any chances to curse at her now ex-boyfriend. When she was finished Lee shocked her, by pulling her into a hug, obviously not caring that she was all gross and sweaty and completely hung over. Her immediate response was to resist, but that lasted for only a second.

"I'm sorry," he repeated softly, whispering in her ear.

TBC

**A/N: **_Work is extremely busy for me right now, I'm leaving for a field job tomorrow, and Friday I'm probably leaving for another one that will last 3 weeks. Unfortunately this is going to affect the posting of new chapters. I will do my best to find the time to write, although I have a feeling it'll be a challenge most days (14-18 hour work days+still needing time to sleep does not equal good fic). However, it's not the writing of chapters that I'm worried about most, it's the actual posting. I'm not even sure that I'll have internet access while I'm gone, not to mention the fact that I won't have my personal laptop with me. Basically what I'm trying to say is that the weekly update thing is like 99 sure not going to happen for the next little while. I'll do whatever I can to update as soon as possible, but in the very worst case scenario it could be a month before a new chapter. shudders I sincerely hope that's not what happens. (If it does though, I will do my best to make more frequent updates once I get back to make up for it.) I apologize in advance for the delays. On the plus side I didn't end this chapter with a cliffhanger - something I've been known to do in the past. So yay! g Anyway, I hope you all understand. Damn real life. Lol._


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Kara stood on her tiptoes, barely able to reach, as she shoved the last box of ambrosia bottles into place in the storage room. It was stupid really, to keep one of the most popular drinks in all the twelve colonies where hardly anyone could reach it, but her boss was set in his ways. He'd owned the bar for nearly fifteen years now, and the ambrosia had to go on the top shelf, because that's where it _always_ went.

Kara swore under her breath as she turned the light off in the storage room and walked back out to the bar. It pissed her off a bit, working at her job, but she just reminded herself of the cash she would have later when she was back at the Academy in the fall. Of course all that money could conceivably end up coming right back to the bar, or one extremely similar, but whatever. It wasn't like this was a full time gig or anything, and if it pissed her off enough she could always just quit.

"'Kay Tony, I'm going to head out," Kara announced to the other bartender, who had just arrived, as she slid in behind the bar to grab her jacket and car keys.

"Alright," he said as he turned to face. "Thanks again for switching shifts with me. Deanne just felt like crap this morning, and I couldn't leave her by herself."

Kara nodded. His wife had woken up with what he was claiming was the worst case of morning sickness in the world—something Kara never, ever planned to experience for herself—and he'd called Kara, begging to switch her shifts. Tony had been on the early shift and she was supposed to have been closing. But she didn't mind the change; the 'early' shift was hardly that—eleven in the morning until seven at night, mostly stocking shelves. Of course there was the occasional visitor at the bar between noon and the end of the shift, but for the most part the crowd stayed away until ten or so. She wouldn't mind missing the craziness once, or possibly just being on the other side of the craziness.

Jean had called her earlier in the week, seeing if she'd wanted to go out one night. Kara had yet to return the call, but she thought she might. It'd been nearly a week since she'd found Sam in bed, or more accurately on the couch, with two other women. The memory still made her fuming mad, but it was possibly time to get past that, if not just forget about it for one night.

* * *

Lee did his best to listen to what Carrie was saying, but he found he was having an extremely hard time focusing, and not just because of the background noise of the bar. It wasn't that he didn't like Carrie and Lisa, Michael's two friends from med school, they both seemed nice enough, it was more that they were… well, he didn't want to say boring, but it was the only word that came to mind. It probably didn't help that more often than not the conversation wound itself back to medical topics, something Lee had very little interest in. Sure he'd taken a few first aid courses through the Academy, but he knew nothing about something-something-ectomies, and neither did he really want to.

However, determined to be polite, Lee put on a smile as Carrie continued telling him about this amazing surgery she'd gotten to watch her mentor perform. Lee quickly glanced at Michael and Lisa who were across the booth from them, but they were deep in their own conversation. Lee sighed mentally and turned back towards Carrie, faking interest once again. He managed to get by with mostly nodding and occasionally murmuring agreement. However, he was taken by surprise when Carrie asked him a question. He only realized it because she was staring at him, obviously awaiting some response.

"I'm sorry?" He said, slightly embarrassed.

Carrie smiled at him. "I asked what you do. Are you in school?"

Lee smiled back, while playing with the empty drink glass in his hands. "Yeah, sort of. I'm going into my second year of the military academy."

"Oh," Carrie said, seemingly genuinely intrigued. "So are you a pilot?"

"Uh, yeah," Lee replied. "Vipers."

"That's _so_ cool. Do you like it?"

Lee felt a rush of relief. Maybe this night wouldn't be quite so bad after all, not if he wasn't going to need to force himself to remain awake. Carrie had a lot of questions about flight school, which surprised him a little bit, but he answered them all honestly. He was just beginning to actually enjoy himself when he caught a glimpse of short blonde hair from the corner of his eye, near the doorway. Lee forced himself to not turn and look.

Even though Kara worked at the bar part time, he knew she wasn't going to be there tonight. He'd seen her that morning before she left for work and she had told him she had the night off and was possibly going out with a friend. However, when he caught a second glimpse of the person with the blonde hair he couldn't resist looking anyway. He paused mid sentence when he recognized Kara. Not only was he surprised to see her there, but he was also surprised by her outfit. He'd only ever seen Kara in running clothes or else military garb, which was definitely not what she was wearing now.

It took less than a nanosecond for his mind to process the sight and come to the conclusion that he really liked seeing Kara in jeans. They weren't fancy, just normal denim, but they fit her body like a glove—a very tight glove. Her plain black tank was simple enough as well, but it too was form fitting, and it also left just a tiny sliver of skin above her waistband revealed. He'd seen her wearing significantly less clothing in the past couple weeks, but for some reason she looked a hell of a lot sexier tonight.

"Is that your girlfriend?" Carrie asked suddenly and bitterly, ripping Lee away from his previous train of thought. Lisa and Michael both stopped talking and looked over at them.

"No," Lee said slowly, trying to figure out why he felt like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Michael looked at him in confusion, before following Carrie's gaze over toward the bar where Kara was now standing. It was the first time Lee noticed there was a redhead with her.

Michael laughed. "Gods no," he said, saving Lee. "That's just my half-sister."

Carrie relaxed visibly. "Oh. I didn't know you had a sister…"

Michael shrugged. "Yeah."

"Was she supposed to be meeting us or something?" Lisa piped in.

Michael shook his head. "No. She works here."

"She isn't working tonight though," Lee corrected automatically.

Michael shrugged again, obviously not caring. "Either way, she's definitely _not_ Lee's girlfriend."

* * *

Kara spotted the only two empty seats at the bar and headed straight for them, Jean following behind. The bar was busy, not surprising in the least. It was one of the more popular places in town, and it was the time of night when it was just getting cool enough to head out. As they sat down, Kara caught Tony's eye and smiled. He looked merely a little surprised to see her back there, and only a moment later he was headed over with a bottle of the ambrosia she'd been stocking earlier. He placed it on the counter between them and followed it with two shot glasses. "On the house," he said smiling, before turning away.

Kara grinned and poured them each a shot of the tantalizing green liquid.

"Why do I have a feeling that has less to do with me being on the C-Bucks and more to do with you working here?" Jean joked before downing her shot.

Kara followed suit and had to stop from making a face as the liquid slid down, warming as it went. The first shot was always the most difficult. "Because it was," she answered, laughing. Jean poured the next round and they both drank.

"Wow," the redhead commented. "That is definitely the good stuff."

Kara smiled as she ran her finger around the rim of the glass. "Of course."

"So," Jean said casually—too casually. "Who are you sleeping with?"

Kara's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and she spun on the bar stool to face Jean. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Jean eyed her closely. "Rebound sex… I know it's been a while since you were recently single, but you must remember how it goes. You find some super hot guy, frak his brains out for a while, and it makes you feel better. At least that approach always seems to work for me."

Kara rolled her eyes. "I do remember the theory…"

Jean eyed her suspiciously. "But…"

"But what."

"But you haven't slept with anyone yet?!"

Kara shook her head and poured another round before taking her shot. "Nope."

Jean drank too, wincing slightly as the alcohol burned its way down. "I know Anders is hot, but there has to be someone around who is just as good looking."

"Probably," Kara assented. Sam was an attractive guy, but he wasn't the hottest man she'd ever met.

Jean was staring at her closely again. "Don't tell me you're hung up on him. Kara, it's not exactly like he was the best boyfriend in the world, and I'm not only referring to his spectacular downfall last week. He wasn't exactly attentive either. I mean, didn't he forget your birthday?"

Kara nodded. Sam had hardly been the spectacular boyfriend, but Jean was wrong on one count, Kara wasn't hung up on him. In fact, not once in the past week had she found herself missing Sam or any aspects of their relationship. What was haunting her was that she had one more failed relationship to add to her ever-growing list. It's not like she was looking for 'Mr. Right', but for once she'd like a relationship that didn't end horribly.

"So, what?" Kara asked, looking at Jean. "Is your goal for the night to find some sucker for me to frak?" She was joking, but the look on Jean's face worried her. "Jean, I was only…" But it was too late; the other woman was already scoping out the bar for potential victims.

She looked back at Kara, smiling. "There are at least four guys in here staring at us. You didn't exactly give me much of a challenge."

Kara laughed, shaking her head. "I was kidding."

Jean shrugged. "Well… if you change your mind, I'm sure you could have your pick. But if I were you I'd go with that guy in the corner booth. Not only is he frakking hot—and I'm talking like sex on legs hot—but he's been staring at you since we walked in."

Although Kara didn't really want to get into Jean's little game, she couldn't help but be at least a little bit intrigued. "Sex on legs, huh?"

Jean nodded. "Hell yeah. Hotter than Anders… maybe hotter than all the guys I know. If you don't snatch him up tonight, I might." She joked.

Her curiosity piqued, Kara looked over her shoulder to see who the hell Jean was talking about. She was surprised when she recognized the intense blue eyes staring at her. Lee looked a little shocked, but he surprised her when he didn't turn his attention back to the rest of the people he was with, but instead tilted his head at her in acknowledgement. She grinned at him, shaking her head slightly in disbelief, before turning back to face the bar.

"Okay," Jean said slowly. "What the hell was that?"

Kara shrugged, still smiling. "That was Lee."

Jean's eyes widened. "Your brother's friend that's staying at your house this summer?"

Kara nodded. "The same."

"Holy frak, why didn't you tell me he was so hot?" Jean sounded almost personally offended.

Kara just laughed.

"Seriously, you've seen him, right?"

Kara nodded. "I never said he wasn't hot."

Jean looked at her like she'd just grown a second head. "Are you crazy? Why haven't you done anything?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about Lee. Are you telling me you don't want to sleep with him?"

Kara rolled her eyes. "He's my brother's best friend. And… he's my friend too."

"So? He's one of the most attractive men I've ever seen. I'd tap that in a second."

"Feel free," Kara said, feeling an unexpected bite of _something_ in her stomach. She would call it jealousy, but she knew better than that.

Jean laughed. "Are you kidding me? The way he's looking at you right now… let's just say I'm pretty sure he wouldn't notice if every other girl here stripped naked and cartwheeled across the room."

* * *

At some point in the evening Lee gave up trying to follow the conversation that Michael, Lisa and Carrie were now having. He did his best to at least appear to be half-listening, but there was no way he could kid himself into believing he wasn't paying ten times closer attention to Kara than the people he was actually seated with. It was making Lee begin to think that maybe his theory of why he was attracted to Kara was completely off in left field.

Other than their daily runs, Lee hadn't spent much time with Kara in the past week. She'd been working quite a bit, and Michael had been keeping Lee occupied with other things. In spite of that, he had noticed that he was finding her to be more distracting than normal—not necessarily a bad thing. But he suspected it might have something to do with the fact that Sam was now out of the picture… and that thought, or possibly more accurately realization, worried him a little. It did not however keep him from continuing to stare.

He'd been surprised earlier when she had glanced over at him, but he'd been more than happy to see the responding smile. Somewhere in the back of his mind he wondered if he would be completely screwed for the remainder of the summer; after all, everyone had a limit on how much temptation they could handle. Yet at the same time he found himself not _really_ caring, which was probably in itself the answer he was looking for.

Sometime just before midnight, the girls stated that they needed to be getting back to their hotel, as they had a flight to catch in the morning. Michael, who hadn't been drinking, offered to drive them back.

"I'm going to finish my beer and then I'll meet you back at the house," Lee told Michael.

His friend nodded. "Sure, sounds good. I'll see you later."

"Bye," Lisa and Carrie said in unison as they stood up to leave.

"Bye," Lee responded. "It was nice meeting you."

They smiled politely before heading for the door, Michael only a few steps behind. The minute Lee saw the door close behind them he turned his attention back to Kara and her friend. They were still at the bar, talking.

He downed the rest of his beer before leaving a tip on the table and heading across the room.

* * *

Kara was reminiscing with Jean about one of their old pyramid games, when she felt the light touch of a hand on her shoulder. She turned just in time to see Lee sliding into the empty seat beside her. "Hey," he said, smiling.

She smiled back. "Hey."

"Hi," Jean added enthusiastically, leaning across Kara to shake hands with Lee.

Kara shook her head, laughing. "Lee this is Jean Barolay. Jean this is Lee Adama."

"It's nice to meet you," Lee said sincerely.

Jean nodded her head. "Likewise."

"Jean and I played pyramid together," Kara offered as she stood up and leaned over the counter, grabbing another shot glass. She placed it in front of Lee and slid the now half empty bottle of ambrosia to him across the smooth wood surface. After he poured himself a drink, Kara took the bottle back and poured another round for Jean and her as well. They all drank.

"Do you still play pyramid?" Lee asked after a few seconds.

Jean nodded. "Yeah, I play for the C-Bucks now."

Kara watched as Lee's eyebrow rose in surprise.

"Yep," Jean said. "Same team as asshole Anders."

Lee laughed quietly.

"Speaking of which," Jean said slowly. "I should probably be going." She checked her watch. "It's almost midnight. Team curfew. Coach will kill me."

Kara bit back a laugh. There was no such thing as team curfew, not until playoffs anyway. Jean may think she was being sly, but she wasn't. At least it was amusing. "Oh," Kara said in a fake believing voice. "New rule?"

Jean smiled. "Yeah," she lied as she stood up, only stumbling slightly. "Coach is really cracking down on us." She smiled at them both. "See you later," she said happily as she walked towards the door.

Kara turned back to Lee. "So…"

"So…" he replied, mimicking her voice as he poured them both another drink.

Kara grinned. "Managed to finally get free of my brother and his friends?"

Lee nodded, looking genuinely relieved.

Kara laughed. "Did they talk hospitals all night long? It's what Michael always does with my dad, and I hate it—he could at least try to act like a normal person."

Lee laughed with her. "You would think." After a moment he said, "I was surprised to see you here tonight."

Kara stared at him. There was something about the way he said that, and about the way he was looking at her... Was Jean possibly right? She forced herself to shrug it off. It had to be the booze talking. "It's one of the few good places in town."

Lee smiled before drinking his shot; Kara followed suit. "It seems like I haven't seen you in a while," Lee commented.

Kara laughed. "I started working, I didn't disappear off the planet. And besides I saw you this morning."

Lee smiled. "True, but you know what I mean."

Kara smiled at him, feeling pleasantly surprised that he seemed to care about her diminished presence over the last few days. "I do know what you mean." After a second she added, "So, what's new?" She couldn't help but laugh in response to the odd look Lee gave her. He could only hold it for a second before he was cracking up too.

* * *

Three hours later Kara poured the last drop of ambrosia into her shot glass and smiled at Lee. They both raised glasses to their lips and tipped their heads back at the same time. Kara cracked up, laughing at the look on Lee's face. "It's supposed to get _easier_ to drink with every shot," she informed him.

Lee shook his head before putting the empty glass back down on the bar. "That's a lie," he informed her, sounding dead serious, but she could see his eyes sparkling with withheld laughter.

Kara let out a barking laugh. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt this good, of course that could be in part due to all the alcohol they'd consumed. There was no doubt about it; they were both completely wasted.

The bar had almost fully cleared out, and Tony was behind the counter tidying up for the night, as last call had been an hour earlier. "I'm shutting down in ten minutes," he told them as he walked by.

Kara hopped off her bar stool, only to stumble sideways into Lee's. His arm wrapped around her waist, holding her up. "Thanks," she said as she caught her balance. When Lee stood up she very nearly had to return the favor.

"Wow," Lee stated. "I cannot remember the last time I was this drunk."

Kara smiled at him, not surprised that he didn't go out and get hammered all that often. He was too much of a control freak for that. "I can," Kara stated, briefly remembering the night she'd broke up with Sam. "But it wasn't nearly this much fun."

"Come on," Lee said, moving his arm to around her shoulders, though she wasn't sure if it was for her benefit or his. "Let's go. If we still want to run in the morning, we're going to need at least a couple hours sleep."

Kara groaned as they began to head for the door, not noticing the pleased look on Tony's face. "Maybe we should just skip running tomorrow… I mean, today."

Lee shook his head as they stumbled out into the cool air. It wasn't actually that cold, but the contrast with how hot it had been earlier made Kara shiver, and Lee pulled her closer. She let him because she was too tired to resist the chivalry that she wasn't used to. "We can't skip running," Lee stated. "It's my favorite part of the day."

Kara groaned in defeat. "Fine, but let's go later. I know it's going to be hot, but if I try running while I'm still drunk…"

As if on cue, Lee stumbled, barely stopping himself from falling flat on his face. "Okay," he assented. "That might be a good idea."

* * *

By the time they caught a taxi and made it back to the Thrace house, it was past three thirty. After they staggered out of the cab and started heading up the driveway, Kara tripped, and would have fallen if Lee hadn't been holding her up.

He was quite glad his arm was around her—it was safer for them both that way. And it felt really nice, but he was pretty sure that was just the alcohol talking. Actually, the alcohol was probably responsible for his arm being where it was in the first place. He rarely got drunk, because when he did he seemed to lose too many of his inhibitions—like now.

They reached the stairs to the porch, only three steps, but Kara groaned. "Ugh, stairs," she said quietly, presumably keeping her voice quiet so Michael wouldn't hear.

Before Lee could say anything she dragged him up them with her. It worked well until her left foot caught on the top step and she stumbled, pulling Lee with her. Somehow he managed to catch her by the waist and twist them the other way. Unfortunately the sudden movement made his head spin and he lost his balance. The next thing he knew he had fallen into one of the wooden porch chairs and Kara was on top of him, straddling his lap.

She started giggling at the surprised look on his face and he covered her mouth with his hand. "Shh," he said, trying to hold back his own laughter. "You'll wake up your brother."

Kara's teeth grazed his palm lightly and he pulled his hand away, surprised. She laughed even harder, but buried her face in his chest to keep from being too noisy. "Sorry," she said after a few minutes. But then she started laughing again.

Lee had to bite his tongue to keep from joining her. Once she finally finished laughing, for real, Kara angled her head in towards Lee's neck. "Crap," she said a moment later.

"What?" Lee whispered, possibly bringing his lips closer to her ear than was really necessary.

"The bedrooms are upstairs," she stated.

Lee groaned and tilted his head back against the backrest of the chair. "Crap."

Kara laughed again. "That's what I just said!"

"Shhh," he reminded her.

"Let's just…" she said at the same time he said, "Maybe we should just…" They grinned at each other and Kara rested her head on Lee's shoulder again.

"'Night, Lee," she said.

"'Night, Kara," he replied, and within seconds they were both fast asleep.

TBC

**A/N:** So, this job I'm supposed to be going on keeps getting pushed back. It looks like now Friday is the earliest day we'll be leaving, but possibly it'll be as late as next week. But really, I don't mind, because it gave me time to write and post another chapter! Chances are the chapter 7 won't get posted until approximately July 13th/14th when I'm scheduled to get back. But if I manage to miraculously get it written this weekend, maybe I'll surprise you all with an 'I'm sorry I have to go away' present. :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The first thing Kara realized when she slowly began waking up was that the sun was warming her back. It was odd, because her room was on the west side of the house so she got the late afternoon sun, not the morning. But when she finally opened her eyes she realized it was kind of a moot point, because she wasn't in her bedroom, she was on the porch. More accurately, she was on Lee, who was sitting in one of the porch chairs.

Her head spun slightly as she dredged up memories from the night before and earlier that morning. She couldn't help but smile as she remembered how totally wasted they'd been; a fact only reinforced by the pounding inside her skull, which wasn't being helped by the stream of bright sunlight that slipped underneath the roof of the porch.

If she had been in her own room, she probably would have just thrown the pillow over her head, rolled over and went back to sleep. Except that was definitely not an option here, not when she was sitting on Lee's lap out on the porch where anyone, (or more specifically Michael), could see them.

Kara slowly pushed herself into a sitting position, ignoring the pang of discomfort in her stiff knee. She watched Lee's sleeping face closely, silently hoping that he wouldn't wake up. Reaching behind her, she gently grabbed his arm by the wrist and moved it to the side so that it was no longer wrapped behind her back. Unfortunately doing so seemed to be the catalytic movement, and the next thing she knew Lee's eyes were fluttering open.

She really should have just hopped off when she noticed, but instead she found herself staring at him until his blue eyes were fully open and he was definitely awake. When the reality of their situation sunk in a barely noticeable blush crept over Lee's cheeks and Kara had to fight back the uncharacteristic urge to giggle.

"Morning," she said quietly.

"Uh, morning," Lee replied. He looked almost like he didn't know quite what to make of the situation. Though she decided that was fair enough since she didn't either.

Kara smiled at him timidly as she slid off his lap and onto her feet. Her knee protested, but she ignored it. "So…" she said slowly as she watched Lee straighten himself in the wooden chair. He was probably just as sore as she was, if not more. It's not like she was light as a feather, and on top of it their porch chairs weren't entirely comfortable.

"So…" Lee was staring at her intently, and Kara felt unusually self-conscious.

She shifted slightly from foot to foot, still staring at him. "Running?" She asked after a few seconds.

Lee smiled, looking possibly a little relieved. "Sure."

* * *

By the time they changed into running clothes and headed out it was nearly nine thirty, the time they were normally getting back.

Once again, Lee let Kara lead. He knew the various trails and paths well enough now, but he didn't mind following behind Kara. Most of the places they ran were single track, and it left him with a rather nice view. He did his best not to stare, but really, it was a lost cause. He'd been finding Kara to be increasingly distracting lately, something only highlighted by the fact that the night before he'd been unable to keep his eyes off of her.

She was, without a doubt, an attractive woman, but she wasn't conventionally attractive. It was something else, something unique, which made it all the more tantalizing. It also meant Lee was screwed. He could no longer pretend that he wasn't attracted to Kara—last night had definitely proved that. Not only had he spent the entire night ogling her, but they had also flirted shamelessly for most of the evening and then they'd fallen asleep together on the porch. He certainly couldn't blatantly ignore the facts that were right in front of him.

A part of him was excited by the turn of events, and he couldn't help but wonder if Kara felt anything towards him. Another part of him was worried: partially because she was Michael's sister, more so because she was his friend, and even more because he didn't exactly excel at anything past one night stands. And as amazing as it would be to sleep with Kara, he knew that he wouldn't want just one night.

* * *

By the end of their run the temperature had risen drastically. Kara felt like she was a fountain of sweat, and she honest to gods could not remember the last time she'd been this hot. One look at Lee told her he felt pretty much exactly the same.

Once inside she went straight for the sink, not even bothering to take her running shoes off, and stuck her head under the tap before turning it on and drinking straight from the stream of water. She could hear Lee laughing quietly at her, but she simply reveled in the feeling of the cool liquid flowing down her throat. Eventually, when she thought her stomach might burst, she pulled her head out from under the tap and turned it off, wiping the back of her hand over her lips.

Lee, who was standing right beside her, reached around her to turn the tap back on. He filled up a water bottle that he'd obviously just emptied, and then drank that too.

Kara walked the few steps over to the small kitchen table and plunked herself down in one of the chairs. Lee refilled his water bottle for a second time, and then followed, sitting down opposite her.

"Is it just me, or are the days getting hotter?" He asked as he ran one hand through his sweat-drenched hair.

Kara opened her mouth to agree, but before she could get the words out Michael had walked in and was answering. "No, it's hotter. I just read the weather report and apparently we're headed for a record breaking week of temperatures."

Lee and Kara groaned in unison.

Michael smiled, seeming in an exceptionally happy mood considering it was before noon, and said, "Not so much fun running in the heat?"

"No," Lee answered for both of them.

Kara groaned and leaned her head against the back of her chair. "Remind me again why we don't have air conditioning."

"Because Dad doesn't want to buy it," Michael replied concisely.

"But why?"

Michael shrugged. "Because he's set in his ways. I don't know, why don't you ask him next time he's home?"

Kara muttered something that might have vaguely sounded like agreement. She was too exhausted to elaborate much past that.

"Did you guys go for a super long run or something?" Michael asked, surprising Kara when he took a seat at the table with them.

"No," Lee said. "We just left later."

Michael raised his eyebrows. "Why? I thought the whole point was to go early before it gets hot."

"It is," Kara said gruffly. "But we got in late last night."

Michael looked at Lee curiously for a second, and Kara wondered if she should have said anything. But then Michael shrugged his shoulders, seemingly forgetting about it.

"So, Lee," he asked. "Are you coming with me tomorrow?"

Lee looked at him, obviously confused. "Coming with you, where?"

"Caprica City. Remember, I have that executive meeting for the med student society."

Kara could tell from the blank look on Lee's face that he had no idea what her brother was talking about. It made her want to laugh, but she bit her tongue.

Michael sighed. "Lisa and Carrie were talking about it last night. Weren't you listening?"

Lee nodded. "Uh, right, I remember."

He was totally bullshitting. But Kara wasn't sure which was funnier, that or the fact that Michael seemed almost completely oblivious to it.

"I know the actual meeting's not for a few days," Michael explained. "But I'm going down early so I can visit friends. Don't you remember?"

Lee nodded. "Yeah, it sounds familiar."

Michael shook his head. "What was with you last night by the way? You seemed totally distracted."

Unexpectedly Kara felt herself blush, and she glanced down at the table to avoid looking at Lee. Maybe Jean had been right… the thought sent an undeniable thrill of excitement through her body.

After a few seconds of silence Kara couldn't help but look back up. Lee looked at a loss for words, so he just shrugged. "I don't know. I was just… tired I guess."

"Okay," Michael said. "Whatever. So are you coming to Caprica City or not? You could visit your family while you're there."

Kara watched as Lee shifted uncomfortably in his chair, avoiding Michael's gaze. "Nah," he said. "That's fine. Maybe I'll see them some other time."

"You sure?" Michael asked, as he stood up and headed for the fridge, probably in search of some breakfast or lunch.

Lee nodded and a determined look surfaced on his face. "Yeah, I'm sure."

For the first time since Lee had arrived at her house, Kara wondered why he was there. She hadn't given it much thought before, but it didn't really make sense. Visiting your friend during your summer break, sure, lots of people did that. But spending the entire summer at your friend's house when your own family lived only a short flight away… She couldn't help but feel an intense stab of curiosity.

* * *

The next day Kara had to practically force herself to go to work. Not so much because she wasn't the hugest fan of her job, but more so because she was still tired from the night her and Lee had stayed out so late. She'd spent most of the previous afternoon sleeping after their run, as had Lee. And yet it had still been hard to drag her ass out of bed that morning. She was fairly certain that if she hadn't known Lee was waiting for her, she would have simply skipped the run and stayed sleeping. But he had admitted that it was his favorite part of the day, and she didn't want to let him down. Truthfully, it was also something she looked forward to.

When Kara walked into the bar she saw that Tony was already there. She checked her watch quickly, but she wasn't late.

Tony saw her and laughed. "I'm just early."

Kara smiled at him as she ditched her keys and coat behind the counter. It was the day of the week when most of their stock came in, so the manager scheduled two people for the 'early' shift.

"Thanks again for switching shifts the other day."

"It's really not a big deal, Tony," Kara said as she reached for the inventory checklist behind the till.

Tony shrugged. "I still appreciate it."

"Well, you're welcome," Kara said.

"So, did you have a good time the other night?" he asked her as he returned to what he had been doing, stocking the cooler with newly arrived beer bottles.

Kara remembered that Tony had been bartending the other night, and smiled. "Yeah, I did."

"Your new boyfriend seems nice," he said.

Kara stopped scanning the list in her hands and turned to look at Tony. "What?"

He looked at her oddly. "Your boyfriend, he seems like a nice guy."

Kara felt her face warm and she turned back to the job at hand. "He's not my boyfriend."

"Oh," Tony said, obviously surprised. "You guys seemed really close, I just assumed…'

"We're friends," Kara stated sharply. At least, she was pretty sure that's all they were.

"Okay. Whatever you say."

Throughout the day as Kara continued to work, she found that she was having a hard time concentrating. Not that stocking shelves required all that much concentration, but at least when she was focusing on that she wasn't thinking about Lee. What Tony had said had set her mind on a track it seemed it really didn't want to get off of.

They were friends, or at least that's how it hard started out. But now… she couldn't help but wonder if something had shifted between them. She kept thinking about what Jean and Tony had said, and thinking about the way Lee had looked at her the other night. She'd even been thinking about Michael's comment from earlier, about how Lee had been distracted. It couldn't possibly have been because of her, could it?

She felt a flutter of hope inside her chest and cursed herself for it. Lee was a great guy. He was her friend, that should be the end of the story, but she had a feeling it might not be that simple.

Later in the afternoon, Kara was doing a good wipe down of all the counters behind the bar when the door chime sounded, indicating a customer. She looked up and was surprised to see a familiar head of red hair walking towards her.

"Hey," Jean said as she sat down.

"Hey," Kara replied. "Want a drink?"

Jean nodded as she pulled a bill out of her pants pocket and put it on the bar. "Beer please."

Kara took the money and nodded. Grabbing a bottle from the nearest cooler, she twisted off the cap and handed it to Jean. "I'm surprised," Kara said. "You're not usually much of an afternoon drinker."

Jean smiled. "Every once and a while it's okay. But I really came here to see you. Do you have a second?"

Kara nodded, leaning against the counter in front of her. "Sure."

"How'd it go?" Jean asked, smiling as she stared at Kara hopefully.

"How did what go?"

Jean rolled her eyes. "The other night. With Lee. Did you sleep with him?"

Kara sighed, not entirely surprised by Jean's question. "No."

"Seriously? He was totally yours for the taking. I set it up perfectly… well, okay, I really didn't have much setting up to do since he's so obviously into you. But… why not?"

"He's my friend Jean, that's it."

All traces of joking left Jean's eyes and she said seriously, "So? Sometimes friends make the best more than friends."

Kara shrugged, feeling slightly uncomfortable. She kind of liked her friendship with Jean because they usually didn't go down this girly route.

"Kara, all joking aside, I saw how he was looking at you. He likes you, a lot. And he seems like a really great guy. You shouldn't let someone like that pass you by, you'll regret it."

"He is a great guy," Kara said, just as serious. "But that doesn't mean anything."

Jean smiled knowingly. "Listen, I just don't want to see you miss out on something great because he's your brother's friend, or because he's your friend."

"Jean…"

She smiled. "Kara. Just think about the possibility. Please?"

Kara sighed. "Okay, I'll think about it."

Jean smiled. "Good. He'd be good for you, Kara."

And before Kara could think of anything to say in return, Jean was heading for the door, her beer left untouched on the counter.

For the rest of her shift Kara definitely couldn't stop thinking about Lee, not with all the things Jean had said running around inside her head. She didn't know what to do. Should she make a move or something? Hell, she didn't even know if she wanted to make a move. Maybe Jean was misreading things, maybe Lee only thought of her as a friend, though something in her gut screamed 'lie' at the thought. She had no idea how she'd managed to land herself this situation. It was frustrating and her own indecision was pissing her off.

By the time Kara grabbed her coat and keys and was ready to leave, she'd made a decision. She'd just let things happen. If that meant that at some point her and Lee… well that was okay, but if it meant they only stayed as friends, that was fine too.

She smiled as she got into her truck. Actually, that was probably the best decision she could have made. It was brilliant in its simplicity. She could just enjoy living in the moment, without having to worry about anything else. Which was really good, because her and Lee were about to spend four days together by themselves. She smiled and turned her truck on, heading home.

* * *

Lee was just beginning to prepare supper when he heard the back door of the house open. He smiled. "Hey."

"Hey," Kara replied. He could hear her kicking off her shoes before she walked into the kitchen. "Oh, what are you making?" She asked as she stepped up behind him and looked over his shoulder curiously.

"Taco Salad," Lee answered. "How was work?"

Kara shrugged and moved towards the fridge, her shoulder gently brushing against his in the process. Lee forced his body not to respond to the contact.

"Same as always," Kara said as she pulled out two beers. After twisting the caps off both of them she handed one to Lee.

"Thanks," he said, smiling as he took the chilled bottle from her hands.

"So is Michael gone?" Kara asked, leaning her back against the counter only a few feet away from Lee.

He returned his attention to the vegetables in front of him as he answered. "Yeah, I dropped him off at the spaceport a couple of hours ago."

"I guess it's just the two of us then."

Lee glanced sideways at Kara as he pulled the lettuce out of the bag. "I guess it is," he said, trying to keep his voice casual, as if he hadn't already thought of that. But the truth was he had thought of it, it's the only thing he'd been able to think about for the whole day.

"Want some help?" Kara offered, looking at the salad fixings in front of him.

Lee laughed. "I don't know. I've seen Michael both burn and undercook the same egg."

Kara rolled her eyes. "Just because my brother's a complete idiot in the kitchen doesn't mean I am. If you asked me to make some five tiered multi-flavored cake I'd probably fail miserably, but I'm pretty sure I can handle a salad."

Lee smiled. "Well in that case I'd love some help."

Kara grinned back. "Good. So, what do you want me to do?"

Lee grabbed the block of cheddar sitting next to him and handed it to Kara. "Think you can handle grating cheese?"

Kara's face turned solemn. "I'll do my best."

Lee tried to keep a straight face, but failed miserably, and soon they were both laughing. He knew without a doubt that he was really going to enjoy the next few days.

* * *

The next few days passed quickly for Kara, too quickly. Except for the two shifts she'd had at work, she'd spent practically every waking moment in Lee's company. They'd gone for their normal runs, played games, watched movies… just hung out. There was nothing complicated about it, and yet it was more fun than she ever remembered having. She realized that she felt comfortable around Lee, completely at ease to be herself. It made her kind of hate the fact that her brother was returning home soon. Maybe she was being selfish, but she liked it when it was just her and Lee.

And although she didn't want to assume anything, she was fairly certain that he liked it too. He never complained about being in her company, and it certainly didn't seem like he was tired of spending time with her. It was nice, and something she knew she could definitely get used to.

However, that was not something she was going to admit to Jean the next time she saw her. She could only imagine how her friend would react. No, Kara's decision to live in the moment had been the right one. She was having fun, and she wasn't risking frakking anything up. Plus, there was still the possibility of more. If that happened, then… it happened. Simple as that.

* * *

_"Good evening, Delphi. My name is Brian Matherson, and I'll be your host on tonight's show of KLSQ radio. First thing's first, how about that weather? This afternoon the temperature reached an all time record high of…"_

Kara reached up from the floor and slammed the off button on the radio sitting on the coffee table. She really didn't need to hear about the record breaking temperatures, not when she could frakking feel them. She was lying on the floor of the basement, wearing nothing but a tank top and pair of short shorts, and yet she could still feel the sweat seeping out of every pore on her body.

"I know Delphi's known for it's hot summers," Lee said from where he was laying on the couch above her. "But this is frakking ridiculous."

Kara snorted. "I couldn't agree with you more." She shoved the coffee table away from her with one hand, while stretching out into a spread eagle shape, wondering if it would help her cool down at all. After a few seconds she concluded that it wouldn't, but she couldn't quite work up the energy to move again. "I bet Michael's glad he's missing this," Kara stated.

Lee chuckled quietly. "Probably. But he is coming back tomorrow and there's no guarantee that it'll be any cooler then."

"True," Kara said. "I was thinking about taking another cold shower," she added conversationally. "But seeing as the second I stepped out of the last one I was instantly hot again…"

Lee groaned and rolled over onto his stomach, his arm hanging off the couch, inches away from Kara's shoulder. "We need something better than a shower, but I have no idea what."

Kara smiled as an idea formed in her head. "Like a pool."

Lee angled his head so that he was looking down at her from over the edge of the couch. "But you don't have a pool," he said slowly.

Kara shook her head, suddenly beaming. She hopped up onto her feet, surprised to find herself so energetic after fighting off the heat all day long. "No, but I have something even better," she claimed, leaning down to grab Lee's hand, pulling him to his feet too. "Come on."

Once on his feet he looked at her suspiciously. "Do I want to know?"

Kara rolled her eyes and headed upstairs, Lee following behind her. When she opened the door and felt the wave of heat—the difference between the basement and the main level—she very nearly turned back. Instead she just sucked it up and headed for the kitchen. She grabbed four water bottles that she'd shoved into the freezer earlier, two for her and two for Lee.

She passed Lee his and he looked at her funny. "This is your great idea?" He asked skeptically.

Kara rolled her eyes. "No, my great idea involves a thirty five minute drive and I thought you might like some water on the way."

"Oh," Lee said, sounding slightly apologetic.

"Come on," Kara said again, as she grabbed her keys and went to the boot room, shoving her feet into her shoes. "Wear your runners," she instructed.

Lee gave her an odd look, but didn't question her. Kara was about to open the door when Lee headed back into the kitchen. "Where are you going?" She asked.

Lee sighed. "Well, I figured since we are going somewhere I should probably grab a shirt."

Kara glanced down at his naked chest. She shook her head, holding back a smile as she enjoyed the sight. "You'll be fine."

Lee shrugged his shoulders and turned back around. "Whatever you say."

Kara smiled. "Let's go."

* * *

Lee leaned back against the passenger seat, letting the wind whip through his hair as he watched the various country roads fly past him as Kara drove them to wherever they were going. It looked like they were headed towards one of the recreational parks in the mountains, but he couldn't be one hundred percent sure. All he knew was that it was scorching hot out, and he felt like dying. Well, not really dying, but he hadn't known it was possible to experience this kind of heat and live to tell about it. He reached for one of the water bottles and twisted the cap off, taking a sip. He swallowed the water slowly, so as to prolong the cooling effect.

"Can I ask where we're going?" Lee said curiously as he tilted his head sideways against the headrest to look at Kara.

She smiled and shook her head, but kept her eyes on the road. "No."

"Please?"

Kara laughed and shook her head again. "What part of no don't you understand? Besides, you'll see soon enough."

Lee groaned in defeat. "Fine, I'll let you surprise me."

"Good." Kara responded, smiling in triumph. A second later she added, "Can I ask you something, Lee?"

Her voice had lost its joking quality, and he once again turned his head to look at her, only to find she was already glancing at him, a serious expression on her face.

"Uh, sure," he said as he sat up straighter in the seat.

"Why are you here?"

Lee looked at Kara oddly. "Because you informed me that you had a brilliant idea to help us cool down."

Kara's lips quirked upwards in an odd half smile. "That's not what I meant."

"Well what did you mean?" Lee asked, curious again.

"I mean why are you staying at our house for the summer. Your family lives in Caprica City, which is close, they're obviously home since Michael asked if you were going to visit them. So why are you spending your break here?"

Lee turned his attention to the road they were on, not looking at Kara. Truth was, he hadn't given his family much more than a passing thought since he'd arrived at the Thrace's. He'd been having so much fun that he'd almost forgotten about what he was avoiding in the first place.

"Sorry," Kara said quietly. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want."

Lee shook his head. "No, it's okay. I don't mind telling you." And he didn't. Not many people knew the truth about his family, about his relationship with his dad specifically, but he didn't mind if Kara was one of those few.

"I was going to go home," Lee started explaining. "But then a couple of weeks before the end of the semester I found out that my dad was going to be there."

"Is Galactica due in for an overhaul?"

Lee nodded before he realized that he'd never explicitly told Kara who his father was. He automatically turned to look at her with a questioning gaze and she shrugged. "It's not exactly like there are that many Adamas in the fleet, and Michael's mentioned it before."

"Uh, right. Well anyway, I found out my dad was going to be there for my entire break. I'm pretty sure he planned it that way, so that I'd be forced to see him, but I don't think he'd been counting on me finding out in time to change my plans."

"Why don't you want to see him?" Kara asked, her voice soft, barely loud enough to be heard over the wind coming in through the open windows.

Lee sighed. "We sort of… had a huge fight the last time I saw him, during the semester break."

"About what?"

Lee sighed again. "About everything. Any reason I've ever had to be mad, or disappointed with him. It was pretty much inevitable—I haven't gotten along with him for years now. I'm just surprised it didn't turn into a physical fight. I'm pretty sure I've never been that mad before."

Kara glanced at him quickly before turning her eyes back to the road. "What did he do?"

Lee shrugged. "You mean what did he do to instigate it, or what did he do make me angry?"

"Both."

"My dad was never exactly the perfect father, in fact he was far from it. He was rarely home, but when he did show up he still seemed to think he knew what was best for my brother and I. He had, or should I say has, our entire lives planned out for us. He wants both of us to become viper pilots, and go to War College, and become officers and someday battlestar commanders just like him. He always used to tell us 'A man isn't a man until he wears the wings of a viper pilot'.

"It was horrible for him, any time either of us started to show an interest in anything other than the military, even when we were younger. We weren't _allowed _to talk about doing anything else. The only variation on his plan that he accepted was my mother's insistence that we both get university degrees before enrolling in the Academy." Lee could almost cringe at the bitterness in his own voice. Apparently not thinking about it for the past few weeks hadn't really changed anything.

"I'm sorry, Lee," Kara said as she turned onto another country road.

Lee inhaled deeply, trying to calm himself down. "It's not that bad for me, I guess. I've always known I loved flying. Ever since I was a little kid, before my dad ever got back into the military, I knew I wanted to fly. So when my dad kept herding me towards this life he has planned for me I didn't really mind, not at first. Then the older I got I realized how wrong it was for him to be the one trying to control what I do with my life, and to be trying to control what my brother does with his.

"Zak's smart. He's frakking brilliant. He loves school, he loves biology, and he hates flying. He gets nauseous riding on shuttles, but he's still planning to go into the Academy, because that's what my dad wants. He's never quite seen my dad in the same light I do. I think he still paints him as someone to look up to. And Zak is going to throw away so many career options, just because he wants to make my dad happy. Not only that, he's going to put himself in danger doing it. If Zak doesn't pass his entrance exams, I know my dad will pull strings to get him into the Academy, and to keep him there.

"I tried talking to Zak, but he won't listen. He thinks he wants to fly, but I know that the only reason is because it's what my old man wants. And during the semester break, my dad made some comment to my mom about how much he's looking forward to the day when Zak is a pilot too… I just lost it.

"I started yelling at him. Telling him how wrong it was for him to try and control our lives. And he started yelling back, saying that as our father it was his right to care about the major decisions we make. To which I said something about how could he even call himself our father when he was never there, and that he didn't know either of us, and he needed to get his head out of clouds and back down in reality, because he's only going to get one chance at life and he's frakking it up beyond recognition."

Lee forced his muscles to relax, not realizing that they'd gotten so tense. "Then there was some more insults flying around, and I criticized pretty much anything he's ever done." Lee looked out the side window, avoiding Kara's gaze. He hadn't meant to say quite that much, but it had sort of just slipped out. "Pretty frakked up family, huh?"

"I'm really sorry, Lee," Kara said sincerely. "That's pretty frakked up."

"But hey," she continued. "If we were to have a competition over who has the more frakked up family, I think you'd be pleased to know that I would win."

Lee scoffed and turned to look at Kara. "What are you talking about? Your family's great."

Kara's eyes widened and she shook her head. "Oh no, it's not."

Lee stared at her in confusion. "What? You have a great brother, and I really like your dad. I've even met some of your aunts and uncles and cousins, and they seemed nice."

Kara laughed, a hint of bitterness creeping into her voice. "No. Michael's family is great, mine… not so much."

"Your mom?" Lee asked quietly. "I've never heard you talk about her."

Kara looked away. "Partly her. But partly other things… it's complicated, and very frakked up." She glanced back at Lee. "Remind me to tell you some day."

Lee realized he really didn't know that much about Kara's history, and it made him insanely curious. He smiled at her. "You could just tell me now."

Kara smiled back and shook her head. "No way. It's a long story, and we… are finally here. Later though, I promise."

Lee looked back out the window and noticed that they had pulled into a small recreational park like he'd been predicting, but at the same time it wasn't what he had been expecting. The paint had all been chipped off the sign, there were weeds in the parking lot, and no other cars. Kara pulled into one of the empty stalls and turned off the truck, pulling the key out of the ignition.

"It looks kind of deserted," Lee commented as he hoped out of the truck, shutting the door behind him.

Kara laughed and walked around the truck to his side. "That's the point. It's perfect. No one else will even be here."

Lee looked around them. "And where is here exactly?"

Kara grinned and headed for a path that Lee only then just saw peeking out from between two bushes. He followed behind her as she said, "Here is where we are going to finally cool down."

"By… hiking? I somehow doubt that's going to help."

Lee couldn't see Kara's face, but he imagined she was rolling her eyes. "No. Come on, Lee, we're in the woods, there are only so many options."

"A lake?" He asked hopefully.

Kara looked over her shoulder at him, smile firmly in place. "Not only a lake, but a glacier-fed lake."

Lee grinned back. "You're good."

"I know."

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

It wasn't a long walk to the lake at all, maybe ten minutes at the most, but in the scorching heat it felt more like an eternity to Kara. She just kept reminding herself that it would be more than worth it once they got there. Just thinking of how good the water would feel put an extra bounce in her step.

The moment she caught a glimpse of the lake from between some trees on the side of the overgrown trail, Kara looked over her shoulder at Lee, smiling. His responding grin told her all she needed to know: he had seen it too.

"First one all the way in wins," Kara said playfully, before taking off as fast as she could, not even waiting to see if Lee followed her. But she knew he would, confirmed by the sound of his footsteps closing in behind her.

"Cheater," she heard him say between panting breaths, but she just laughed and kept on running.

The path exited onto what she guessed would be called the beach of the lake, but really it was just an area of tiny pebbles leading up to the water's edge. As she dashed across it she shed her shirt tossing it on the ground without a further thought, while at the same time she tried kicking off her shoes mid-stride. It didn't really work and she had to pause for half a second to yank the two runners off, hoping awkwardly as the hot stones burned uncomfortably on the soles of her feet.

She was quickly losing whatever lead she'd had over Lee. He had stopped only a few feet away, and began unzipping his shorts at the same moment she began to unbutton hers. Soon they were both stepping out of their pants, clad only in their underwear, and were racing the final stretch to the water.

The water was freezing in comparison to the air, and even though she'd been expecting it, the difference still came as a shock. However, Kara kept running until the water was at hip level, and her strides were causing huge splashes of water to soak her entire body, and then she jumped into a shallow dive.

When her head broke the surface of the water a few feet away she caught sight of Lee not far from her, doing the same. They smiled at each other.

"Tie," they declared in unison, still trying to catch their breaths.

* * *

Lee flipped so that he was floating on his back and stared up at the sky. He still couldn't believe how cold this water was. On any other day it would be unbearable, but right at that moment it felt perfect lapping against his overheated skin.

He glanced over at Kara who was treading water not far from him, even though he was sure she could still touch bottom if she tried. He had to really force his eyes to stay on her face, and to not look down and try to see through the water to what it was covering up. It was ridiculous; he'd seen Kara in her underwear before, but he still felt the pull.

"This was a great idea," he said, wondering if he sounded as in awe as his body felt.

Kara smiled. "Thanks."

Lee watched as a bead of lake water dripped free from Kara's hair and traced it's way down the pale skin of her face, to her jaw where it finally let go and dropped into the water.

"If it wasn't quite this hot, I'd suggest cliff diving," she said, tilting her chin towards the other side of the lake.

Lee rolled off of his back and reached for the bottom, finding it was just shallow enough for him to stand comfortably flat-footed and not be fighting to keep his head above water. Glancing over in the direction Kara had indicated, he realized he hadn't gotten a very good look at the place when they'd first come off the path—he'd been too preoccupied with beating Kara into the lake.

The body of water wasn't huge, but it was a fair size. As far as Lee could tell the little beach the trail led to was probably one of the only spots a person could walk into the lake from. His eyes scanned the remainder of the lake's perimeter and saw different slopes of varying heights and degrees of incline, including the very opposite side Kara was referring to.

There the lake was held in by a steep cliff face. It wasn't high enough that someone might try hang-gliding off it, but it was high enough.

"People jump off that?" Lee asked, eying Kara skeptically, noticing at the same time that she'd stopped treading water and was now standing as well.

She nodded as she wiped her wet hair away from her face. "Yeah. It's a lot of fun."

"You've done it?" He phrased it as a question, even though he was sure he knew the answer.

Kara smiled. "Why, does that surprise you?"

Lee laughed, shaking his head. "No, it really doesn't."

* * *

Kara had lost all track of time and couldn't be sure how long they'd been in the water for, but she suspected it was a couple hours at least. The water was cold and entirely perfect given the weather, making both her and Lee reluctant to get out at all. Not that she minded though.

She glanced over at Lee from where she was floating on her back. He was doing the same, but he had his eyes closed. Kara took the opportunity to admire the sight in front of… well, beside her. A smile crept onto her face as she stared. Lee was without a doubt an attractive man. She had to bite her lip to stop the laugh from escaping as her eyes traveled down to the boxer briefs. Some guys were just boxers guys, others were quite obviously briefs guys, Lee… well, he was definitely a boxer briefs guy. She didn't know why, but it fit him.

Still biting her lip, Kara turned her head back to face the sky, closing her eyes against the bright sun that was beating down on her face. She figured she should probably play nice for the rest of the day, even if Lee hadn't known she was playing naughty to begin with.

A few minutes later, or it might even have been as much as ten, Lee's voice suddenly filled the silence. "Looks like it's going to rain."

Kara reluctantly opened her eyes and glanced to the west. Indeed, there were some rather ominous looking storm clouds there. "Yeah," she said, "But it'll probably take a while to roll in."

"You sure?' Lee questioned, moving so that he was standing up in the lake again.

Kara looked at him, making sure he was looking back before she rolled her eyes theatrically. "Sure enough that I'm not going to make a run for the shore for fear of being electrocuted by a vicious lightning strike."

"Smart ass," he replied.

She smirked at Lee, not realizing he had moved his hand until the water he'd displaced was raining down on her. Kara reacted instantly, standing up and wiping the water away from her eyes and her now gaping mouth. She had not been expecting that.

Lee looked a little ashamed and opened his mouth, presumably to apologize, but Kara had a better idea. She raised her hand and smacked it into the water, directing the spray directly at Lee. He spluttered as he inhaled water, and his look turned from apologetic to something else: determined.

Suddenly Lee was splashing her again and she was splashing him back. They were both laughing and she was glad the park was otherwise unoccupied, because she was certain their antics would look extremely immature to any observer. That didn't mean it wasn't fun though.

Their water fight escalated until all Kara could see and hear was the water flying around. She wasn't losing, but neither was she winning, so she decided to take things one step further. Kara slowly made her way closer to Lee, still assaulting him with lake water the entire time, until finally she was only a few feet away. She took a deep breath and ducked beneath the water, grabbing both of his legs by the ankles and pulling them swiftly out from under him.

When she surfaced, Lee was fighting his way back towards the air as well. She grinned at him when he regained his footing completely, shrugging her shoulders with fake indifference.

She was a little surprised to see him grinning back so eagerly. At least until he said, "You're on." Before her body could really catch up to her brain, Lee had his hands on her shoulders, pushing down, and all of a sudden she was under the water. That's when it became an all out war.

At some point during the battle, and Kara couldn't quite pinpoint when, the tone in the air turned from one of competition to something else entirely. She didn't know what it was, but one minute they were splashing around, each trying to drown the other, and the next they were still splashing, but it was different. Hands seemed to linger longer than they should on skin, and bodies starting pressing more and more closely with each dunk, and eyes were wandering into areas most definitely not covered by the friendship grounds.

Kara wondered if she should be thinking something along the lines of 'No, I shouldn't, he's my friend', or 'This maybe isn't the best idea', but somehow all she could think was that she wanted it. And she suddenly did want it, more than anything. Any and all reservations she might have, or should have had, flew completely out of her mind.

They had come to a standstill, facing each other, chest high in water, both breathing heavily from exertion. Lee's hand was placed lightly on her shoulder and he was staring at her with those intense blue eyes, the ones that made her stomach tighten. And all she could think was that she wanted this, she wanted Lee.

So when Lee quickly averted his eyes, and removed his hand from her skin, Kara reacted on instinct. She closed the tiny existing gap between them and kissed him.

* * *

When Kara's lips came crashing down on his, Lee was … shocked would have been an understatement. It took his brain a few seconds to catch on to what was going on. Kara, the woman he was insanely attracted to, was kissing him. The absurdity of their situation, that they were standing in glacial lake water, in their underwear, didn't even register. All that his mind could think of was that Kara was kissing him.

By the time his mind caught up enough to think of kissing her back, Kara had pulled away. She looked at him sheepishly for a second before looking down at the water, and taking a step back. "Uh, Lee, I…"

But he didn't let her finish her sentence. He had moved a step closer and then he was kissing her. Kara obviously had faster reaction times than he did, and in less than a second, she had her arms wrapped around his shoulders, pulling her wet body firmly against his.

Lee moaned at the delicious contact of their skin, and Kara took the opportunity to slip her tongue inside his mouth, exploring without hesitation. He responded in turn, and the next thing he knew the lake seemed to be almost too hot.

"Gods, Lee," Kara said into his mouth while her hands clutched tightly at his shoulders. The sound of her voice moaning his name was indisputably erotic, and Lee felt himself harden instantly.

"Kara," he whispered back, breaking his mouth away from hers so he could kiss down her jaw. The thin layer of water on her skin caused his lips to glide effortlessly all the way to the base of her neck, where he began to suck lightly, eliciting a sharp gasp from Kara.

Lee smiled against her neck, but before he had a chance to further explore the sensitive area, Kara had pulled his head back up to meet hers in another searing kiss. One hand stayed wrapped in his wet hair, while the other slid down his lower back and past the waistband of his underwear to grab his ass. Meanwhile Lee's hands had found their way up to Kara's breasts. As he continued to kiss her, his thumbs began rubbing tiny circles around erect nipples still covered by a wet sports bra. Kara made a tiny, yet interesting noise deep in the back of her throat, and if Lee's mouth hadn't been otherwise preoccupied he would have smiled smugly.

Then, the next thing he knew, he was the one making the sound of pleasure. Kara had moved her hand between them and was cupping him. Lee had to use every last ounce of concentration he had not to lose control at that moment. It had been an extremely long time since he'd last done this, and as much as he wanted to drag it out into something that lasted hours, he knew that wasn't about to happen. Thankfully, Kara didn't seem to mind.

Their kissing became more frantic and soon they were both pulling off what little remaining clothing they had on, tossing it into the water without a second thought.

Lee placed both hands on Kara's hips and lifted her up, sliding into her as he brought her down to rest on his waist; her legs clasped around him tightly. As good as Lee had imagined it would feel, reality felt a million times better. His breath caught in his throat, and he thought Kara's might have as well, but he couldn't tell for sure, because he was trying too hard to remember to breathe.

Then Lee's brain stopped working entirely. All he could manage to do was kiss her with everything he had while she moved against him.

* * *

Afterwards, Kara couldn't quite seem to be able to get her body to budge. She knew that she should probably unwrap her legs from around Lee and try to stand, but it just wasn't happening. She leaned her head against Lee's shoulder while she struggled for breath, glad that he was still catching his as well. Her mind was whirling with several thoughts, but none of them had won dominance…yet.

Eventually, seconds or minutes later she couldn't tell, Kara seemed to finally regain control of her muscles and slipped free from Lee's body and his embrace.

They caught each other's gaze, and then both immediately looked away. In doing so, Kara saw a glimpse of something white floating off to the side, and a better look recognized it as her sports bra. Quickly she reached for it, and pulled it over her head, not enjoying the feeling of the wet material snapping into place. She scanned the water for her underwear, but didn't see them. When she turned to look in the other direction she saw Lee, holding them out for her.

"They were," he started, pointing to his right. "Um, over…"

"Thanks," Kara said quickly and quietly, not meeting his eye as she pulled the garment from his hand and put them on under the water.

Kara didn't look up, but opened her mouth to say something. However, a second later she realized she was at a loss for words and her mouth fell shut. What conversation did this warrant exactly? 'Hey, thanks for the awesome sex, let's just go back to being friends now'? As the thought rolled into existence, Kara immediately rejected it.

No, she was pretty sure that's not what she wanted, but she couldn't tell for sure because she really had no idea what she wanted. Kissing Lee had seemed like the perfect idea at the time. She'd wanted it, and had gone for it, that's how she worked usually. Plus, it definitely fit in with the living in the moment approach. However, living in the moment certainly did not cover how to deal with the awkwardness afterward.

She glanced over at Lee, and when their eyes met, they both looked away again. Kara wanted to curse out loud, but bit her tongue and settled for muttering the profanities silently in her mind. She wondered if this was really what it came to. She had wanted Lee, and the next thing she knew they were standing barely clothed in a lake, unable to even look at each other. If that was the case, what the hell was the remainder of the summer supposed to be like? Kara's stomach twisted in upon itself, but not in the good way like before. No, this was definitely making her feel slightly nauseous.

She was saved from having to think about it, at least at that exact moment, when a bright flash of light lit up the sky. Instantly Kara's head whipped upward. The last fleeting glimpse of lightning flickered through the sky not far from them, and not even a second later the answering thunderclap shook the sky.

Momentarily forgetting about what had just happened, Kara glanced at Lee, only to find that he was looking at her.

"Let's get out of here," he said quickly as he began making his way for the shore, Kara following close behind him.

* * *

The timing was almost ironic; the second they were out of the water and onto the shore, the rain started. And it didn't just drizzle, it outright poured. For a moment Lee's body was confused, and he could have sworn he was still in the lake, except possibly a colder lake. Maybe the water from the sky was colder or else the wind that had just picked up was making it seem like it. Either way, Lee couldn't help but shiver as he pulled on his shorts.

From the corner of his eye he saw Kara hurrying to pull on hers, as well as her tank top. He quickly looked away before she could catch him watching her. What had happened in the water had been… amazing. Lee was hardly a virgin, but he'd still never quite experienced anything like that, something quite so… intense. But in spite of that, at this exact moment he was wishing he could take it back. Wishing he could unkiss Kara, and that instead he would have made some stupid comment and they would have laughed it off. That would have been much more preferable to the awkwardness they were both facing now. Because as great as it had been, he much rather preferred having Kara as his friend, then as a friendship he ruined with a one time frak. His stomach twisted unpleasantly and he shuddered, having a feeling it wasn't because of the weather.

A second later the wind picked up yet another notch, accompanied by a few rounds of lightning and thunder. Kara, who had just finished jamming her feet into her runners headed off down the trail towards the truck, and Lee followed her. They ran quickly, both wanting to be out of the rain.

When they arrived in the parking lot, Kara fought with the wet pocket of her jean shorts and eventually pulled out the truck keys, unlocking her door before climbing in. She reached over to his side and unlocked the passenger door too, but refrained from making eye contact. Lee thought he might have felt his stomach knot just a little tighter.

The ride back to the Thrace house was colder than the lake had been for sure. The heat in Kara's truck was broken, and by the time they pulled into the driveway they were both shivering. Lee felt truly frozen, but he was almost positive Kara felt worse. Neither of them had uttered a word on the way back, but Lee had snuck a couple glances, and Kara looked so cold he was surprised her teeth weren't chattering together.

They hopped out of the truck, and trudged through the mud and the rain to the back door of the house, still both completely silent. Again, Lee found himself wishing he could go back in time, just a couple of hours, and change things.

When Kara pushed open the back door and stepped inside, Lee followed right behind her, glad to finally be out of the weather. However, he very nearly ran into Kara since she had stopped, midway through the process of kicking off a shoe in front of him. Looking up, Lee saw why. Michael was sitting at the kitchen table reading the newspaper and drinking coffee.

"Hey," he said happily as he looked up at them, his face turning more serious when he saw their half-drowned state.

* * *

"Where the hell were you guys?" Michael asked loudly as he dropped the newspaper onto the table and stood up, apparently forgetting about his coffee as well.

Kara tried to smile at him, but her muscles seemed frozen in place.

"We were swimming," Lee said from behind her, and Kara felt a rush of relief.

"In a storm like this?" Michael asked angrily. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?"

Kara suddenly remembered she was midway through taking off her shoes and finished doing so, before stepping into the kitchen and letting Lee do the same. She still couldn't look at him, but she hoped Michael wouldn't notice anything. The entire situation was awkward enough without adding her brother into the mix.

"It wasn't storming initially," Lee explained. "Once it started we left, we just got caught outside making our way back to the truck."

Michael seemed to relax. "Oh, okay." Kara was surprised when he looked over at her, staring closely.

"What?" She managed to ask through shaking lips.

Michael sighed and appeared to be the fighting the urge to roll his eyes. "You do know that you can still get hypothermia in the summer right?"

Kara nodded, trying to stop her entire body from shaking. "Yes," she said, barely managing to keep her voice from shaking too.

"Kara, your lips look a little blue. Maybe you should head upstairs and grab a warm shower."

Kara nodded eagerly, grasping quickly at her escape route. "Yeah," she told her brother. "Good idea."

Michael laughed. "Of course it's a good idea, it's mine."

She fought the urge to punch him as she walked by and into the living room, heading for the stairs. As she was passing by the couch she heard Lee's voice filter out from the kitchen.

"So," he said slowly. "How was your trip? I'm actually surprised to see you here, I thought I was supposed to be picking you up at the spaceport tomorrow."

Her brother answered warmly. "It was really good. I came back a day early because there was a huge weather warning out. The spaceport's probably closed now, and will be tomorrow too from the looks of the weather report."

Kara stood there for an additional couple of seconds, listening to them begin to talk about Michael's oh-so-important medical student society meeting, before heading upstairs and into the bathroom.

Her shaking hands could barely turn on the shower fast enough, and the second the water was streaming down into the tub, she shed her wet clothes and hopped in. A sigh of contentment escaped her lips and she closed her eyes. For a moment she simply enjoyed the feeling of the warm water caressing her skin. However, a moment seemed to be all that her mind was willing to give to her, because in no time at all it was replaying what had happened in the lake.

It was like she could still feel his fingers digging into her hips… Kara's eyes flew open and she reached for the soap, beginning to scrub her body harshly. She could not obsess over this. It might have been great sex, but that's all it was; it didn't have to mean anything. With any luck this mess could somehow be sorted out and things could go back to the way they'd been that afternoon.

* * *

A few minutes after listening to Michael talk about the med student society meeting, Lee excused himself and headed upstairs, claiming the need for a change of clothes, and probably a shower. He hadn't really wanted to hear about the meeting in the first place, but he'd figured it couldn't hurt to pretend like nothing had happened, at least in front of Michael. The situation they'd landed themselves in was bad enough as it was.

Lee's feet felt heavy as he dragged them up the stairs. He wondered if he had truly frakked things up. He certainly hoped not, but it was a distinct possibility.

Lee was so caught up in his own mind that he didn't hear the shower turn off, or the door open. And the next thing he knew he had run into Kara in the hallway as she left the bathroom, wearing nothing but a fluffy white towel. Reacting instinctively he brought his hands up to her shoulders, steadying her.

Kara looked up at him. The shock was evident on her face, as was two other things: sadness and hesitancy. Lee almost breathed a sigh of relief as he realized that maybe it was possible that Kara was just as uncertain about what to make of this as he was. He doubted that she'd been planning it either.

He smiled at her softly. "Hey."

It took her a second, but she smiled back. "Hey," she replied, her voice barely audible.

Lee wanted to say something else, but before he could come up with anything at all, he heard the distant sound of a chair scraping against the linoleum of the kitchen floor, and footsteps heading for the stairs.

Kara must have heard it too, because at the exact same second they both jumped apart, leaving a four-foot gap between them. Kara shifted nervously from foot to foot, rubbing her upper arm with the other hand. "I should…" she started, pointing towards her room.

"Yeah," Lee replied, suddenly feeling unsure again. "I should…" he pointed towards the guest room.

Kara nodded and walked to her room, careful not to pass too close to Lee in the process. "You should shower," she said suddenly, her hand paused hovering over the doorknob. "It'll warm you up." And with that she disappeared into her room, leaving behind a confused Lee.

* * *

Kara tried to sleep, she really did. But that damn thunder… at least it was partly due the storm outside. The rest was due to the fact that her mind would not stop thinking. Normally she never thought this much, ever. But here her mind was, replaying everything over and over, analyzing. And quite frankly she hated it. Sex was not supposed to be this complicated. It never had been for her before, and yet it was now.

But the worst part was, that the more she thought about things, the less sense it all made. After her shower she'd thought she'd maybe, sort of, almost straightened things out, but then Lee had smiled at her like that and… Gods. She wasn't a girly-girl, but she didn't know how else to describe the feeling in her stomach, except as butterflies. The fact that she was feeling something different, and new, and admittedly something she liked, was confusing the hell out of her.

Kara groaned in frustration and threw the covers down to the foot of her bed. She needed to get up, to do _something_, even for a few minutes, just to keep herself from going crazy. Finding an old, but warm sweater in her dresser, she pulled it out and put it on.

Silently, or at least as silently as she could, Kara slipped out of her bedroom and tiptoed down the stairs. Once in the kitchen she flicked on only the light above the stove and boiled some water for cocoa. After mixing the steaming liquid in with the powder, she wrapped her hands around the warm mug and headed for the porch.

Despite the chaoticness of a storm, she found it oddly calming to watch the lightning, and feel the fresh air on her face. She didn't know that it would necessarily help her tonight, but it certainly couldn't hurt.

* * *

Lee had seen the kitchen light turn on from where he was sitting out on the porch. He had watched through the kitchen window, as Kara boiled water and made what he was guessing was hot cocoa. Then the light had turned off, and Lee had focused his attention back on the storm, until he heard the door to the porch open.

He instantly looked to his left, just in time to see Kara step out onto the porch, mug in one hand while she closed the door behind her.

"Uh, hi," she said quietly when she looked up and noticed him.

"Hi," he replied just as softly, almost meeting her gaze.

"Sorry, I didn't know you were… I'll just…" she moved to go back into the house.

"No," Lee said suddenly. "Kara, please, stay."

Surprising him, she nodded and moved towards him, taking the chair on his left. She pulled her legs up onto the chair, tucking her knees in against her chest while she blew on the mug of cocoa, staring straight ahead.

He hadn't known Kara for that long, in spite of the fact it felt like he'd known her for years, but he still never would have ever expected to see her so… timid. It worried him, and Lee knew he had to do something to fix things between them, or at least try.

"Kara," he started.

"Yeah?" She answered hesitantly, still not looking at him.

"Look, Kara, about what happened today at the lake… It was…" Lee didn't quite know where to go with this, but he figured the truth couldn't hurt. "It was amazing, and great and I was not expecting it to happen. I'm just sorry that it, that I, screwed things up between us. If you want we can just call it a one time thing, and pretend it never happened."

Lee held his breath, waiting for Kara to say something, anything in response.

Eventually, after what seemed like hours but was probably more like minutes, Kara turned her head to look at him. It was dark, but with the flashes of lightning he could see her face quite clearly. "What if I don't want it to be just a one time thing?" She asked, the words so quiet he could barely make them out.

Lee released the breath he'd been holding and smiled. "I'd like that," he said honestly, maintaining eye contact.

Kara grinned back, and in that moment it was like all of the initial awkwardness magically faded away. "Okay then."

Lee laughed. "Okay."

"So it was great?" Kara asked, a hint of teasing entering her voice as she cocked her head to the side, still staring at him.

Lee blushed. "I… what I meant was…" He sighed in defeat. "Yeah, it was great."

"It was great," Kara agreed. "I've never had sex in a lake before," she added.

Lee laughed. "Me neither. A first for both of us."

This time it was Kara's turn to laugh. "I guess so."

With all of the discomfort between them gone, they were both content to simply sit there and watch the storm.

Lee found himself grinning broadly, even though Kara wasn't looking at him. Out of all the ways the day's events could have ended, he was sure they'd ended up with the best one. However, there was one thing niggling at the back of his mind from much earlier on in the day that he was insanely curious about. After about twenty minutes of sitting there, he couldn't help it, he had to ask.

"Kara?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah," she said, turning her head to look at him.

"Will you tell me about your frakked up family?"

Kara's look turned to one of surprise. "With everything that happened today, I can hardly believe you remember me saying that."

"Of course I remember."

Kara smiled. "Well, I did promise." She shifted in her chair so that she was slouched down a bit more. "What do you want to know?"

Lee smiled at her. "Everything."

TBC

**A/N:** I am finally (probably/possibly/theoretically) leaving for that extended field job this week. If you're wondering if this is the same job I mentioned several chapters earlier, the answer is yes. If it ends up we leave on the weekend, or sometime next week instead, I'll try to get another chapter in. I think this will be the last one before I go away, but I thought that for the last couple as well, so who knows. It's still going to be a long 3 week type thing, so let's just say this: at some point this story will not get updated for 3 weeks to a month. When this happens it's because my work finally got things organized and I'm gone, I will however be back and posting in the future. Meanwhile, while I am here, I will continute to write and try to update weekly. :)

Oh, and I apologize for not replying to reviews from chapter 7 yet. It will happen, I promise. :)


	9. Chapter 9

Previously

"_Kara?" He asked quietly._

"_Yeah," she said, turning her head to look at him._

"_Will you tell me about your frakked up family?"_

_Kara's look turned to one of surprise. "With everything that happened today, I can hardly believe you remember me saying that."_

"_Of course I remember."_

_Kara smiled. "Well, I did promise." She shifted in her chair so that she was slouched down a bit more. "What do you want to know?"_

_Lee smiled at her. "Everything."_

**Chapter 9**

Kara stared at Lee through the darkness, which enshrouded the porch. It was only lit occasionally by flashes of lightning. "How much do you know already?" She asked quietly.

The look on Lee's face turned to one of confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what has Michael told you about me, about why I came to live here when I was twelve."

Lee shook his head. "Nothing."

Kara scoffed. "Why does that not surprise me? You know, I wouldn't exactly be shocked if Michael himself doesn't know the whole truth."

Lee continued to stare at her. "Why wouldn't he?"

Kara sighed. "Have you ever seen Michael act at all like he even remotely cares about me?"

"Kara, of course he cares, he's your br--"

"When? Seriously, Lee, have you ever seen him act like a brother?" Kara questioned calmly, having accepted the truth a long time ago.

Reluctantly Lee shook his head. "I'm sorry."

Kara shrugged, her sweater bunching a bit at her shoulders. "It's no big deal, I'm used to it. I mean, come on, I've known him for over eleven years now and he still introduces me as his _half_-sister. I don't think I've ever heard him leave the half part out."

"Why?" Lee asked, turning in his chair to face her, his blue eyes staring at her intently even through the dim light. "That doesn't make any sense. Michael's one of the nicest people I know." He paused for a moment. "But you're right. It's almost like he's holding a grudge."

Kara nodded, momentarily glancing down at the still mostly full cup of cocoa that she was balancing atop her knees, which were tucked up against her chest. "That's exactly what he's doing."

She didn't realize she'd fallen silent until she heard Lee's quiet voice, barely audible over the sound of the pouring rain and distant thunder. "I'm sorry, Kara, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

Kara turned her head to smile at him, albeit weakly. "No, it's okay. I don't mind." The truth was she'd never told anyone before, not the entire story at least. Sure she had mentioned bits and pieces over the years, but the only two people who knew everything were her and her dad. Soon Lee would know too, but the odd thing about that was she actually wanted him to know. As frakked up as her history was, she knew that Lee wouldn't run terrified in the other direction. She wasn't sure if that knowledge came from having heard about his family, or if it was a gut instinct, or both, but she knew.

"I guess it just makes sense to start at the beginning. You know Becky?"

Lee nodded. "Yeah, Michael's mom. She passed away from cancer two years ago."

Kara nodded. "She was married to my dad. They'd only been together for a few years when their marriage started falling apart. I think they tried to make it work, but in the end the only option left was divorce. I know my dad didn't want to resort to that, but there was really no choice. That's probably why she did it though."

"Why she did what?" Lee asked in confusion.

"It wasn't until after dad had agreed to the divorce that she told him she was pregnant with Michael. She must have realized that if my dad had known beforehand, he never would have gone along with it. From what little I've heard my dad say about it, I think she just wanted out more than anything."

Lee looked a little surprised. "They were divorced before Michael was born?"

Kara nodded. "Yeah. I guess it's good that they parted on mostly mutual terms, because as far as I know they never had problems splitting their time with Michael. He went to school here until high school, when he moved to Caprica City to live with her for three years. Something you obviously know since you guys went to high school together. I think they split holidays and school breaks as well. But anyway, that's beside the point.

"When my dad found out that Becky was still leaving him even though she was pregnant, he became depressed.

"A few weeks later he met my mother in some dingy bar. She was a marine, stationed in Delphi at the time. She told me that one night she got drunk, and in doing so she 'let her judgment slip'." Kara put extra emphasis on the words by speaking them slowly, the same way her mother had whenever she'd told Kara the story of how Kara had frakked up her life. "She hooked up with my dad, once, and here I am, the product of a one night stand."

Kara avoided Lee's gaze, not necessarily wanting to see the sympathy that was probably written there, especially not when there was worse to come.

"Not much later my mom got orders to report to duty on Picon, so she left. She didn't know she was pregnant at the time, but I doubt it would have mattered. When she did find out she never bothered trying to look up my dad and let him know. It was almost thirteen years later when she finally made it back to Delphi, with me this time.

"I can still remember the day I met my dad. We'd only been in the city for a couple of days, and my mom sent me to the store to go buy some milk. I got lost. I mean, Delphi's not that huge, but I was a twelve-year-old kid.

"My dad had been out buying groceries, and had noticed me wandering around and had offered to help me get home. I wasn't exactly the most trusting kid in the world, but I was truly lost and he seemed sincere enough. Reluctantly I let him give me directions, and I'm glad I did. My mom was angry enough that I don't want to know how mad she would have been if I'd have been any later.

"One week I went back to the grocery store at the same time, just to see if my dad would be there again, though of course I didn't know he was my dad at the time," Kara clarified quickly. "He was there, and when I realized that he went shopping at the exact same time every week I kept going back. I can't really explain it, maybe it's because I was curious about a grown up who was nice to me for no reason. Either that or because I knew that it would piss off my mom."

Kara couldn't help but laugh; she had loved pissing off her mom, and sometimes the consequences were even worth it.

"Anyway, when I started showing up every week, my dad noticed. The first couple of times he just smiled at me as he walked past, and I thought he'd forgotten me. But then not much later he would stop and say hi, ask me how I was. I was surprised that he cared, but I liked it, so I kept going back. Sometimes he would buy me candy, or pop, and he would sit on the bench outside the store with me. I remember him one time telling me that I reminded him of his son, who was about my age.

"I'm pretty sure that's about when I started wishing that I could live with him instead of with my mom. He was always nice to me, and my mom… well, she wasn't. She'd told me that I didn't have a father, that I didn't deserve one, and that the gods were punishing me. But I guess I'd always dreamed about having one anyway, and my dad reminded me of those dreams. Obviously I now realize how completely fitting that was." Kara couldn't help but smile at the thought.

"One day my mom started yelling at me about something. I can't even remember what, it was really stupid though. Something so completely inconsequential, yet she was pissed about it all the same. And it's one of the few times I ever yelled back. I told her that I hated her and that I wanted to go live with the man from the grocery store." Kara put her mug down on the table next to her, and wrapped her arms around her legs, pulling them closer to her torso as she fought back a shudder.

"I can still see the look on her face; she was completely shocked and mad, absolutely livid. She demanded to know who I was talking about, and I did everything I could to backtrack. I apologized and told her it was just something I had dreamed, but I knew she didn't believe me. And the fact that I had yelled at her… let's just say I caught hell for that. When my mom took me to the hospital to get checked out after my 'fall', I lost count of how many stitches the nurse gave me. And that's not even mentioning the two broken ribs and sprained wrist I had as well.

"The next week I was surprised when she still let me go off at the normal time, but I didn't complain and jumped for the chance to see my dad again. Of course I should have realized that it was too good to be true. My mom followed me there and I didn't notice. I was too happy to see my dad, who was instantly worried over my appearance since I was covered in bruises and bandages.

"We were outside, in front of the store, and he was asking me what had happened when all of a sudden my mom came storming around the corner. He stared at her in shock as he recognized her, and my mom glared at him, obviously having connected the dots as well. She told me that he was never to come near me again and then she dragged me down the street, put me into the car and drove us back to the base.

"When we got there my mom requested an immediate transfer to anywhere else, but before the request could go through the police came. Someone from social services was there too."

Kara risked a quick glance at Lee. She was almost glad it was dark out, making it so she couldn't see the exact details on his stunned face.

"My dad had decided to do the right thing, to try and get me away from my mom. I don't know how many weeks I got shuffled around in foster care as my parents fought a huge custody battle. But eventually, my dad won. I was staying at this older woman's house, and my dad came walking up the sidewalk, wearing the suit he'd had on in court that day, and I opened the door.

"He was smiling and he told me that he was going to take me to my new home. And that I'd never have to leave, and we wouldn't move, and I could go school with the same kids until I was done. And I was happy. It's the first time I ever remember being truly happy."

Kara realized that she was smiling as she stared down at her knees, not really seeing them. But then she remembered what part came next in the story and the smile faded, but only a little bit.

"Of course nothing's ever quite that simple. I did come to live here, and I met my brother who instantly hated me, and eventually just settled for pretending I didn't exist. Something that has at least in some form carried on until now. I guess I can't really blame him. Becky had shown up at some point, wanting to get back together with my dad. But I guess the moment she found out about me, she went running in the other direction."

Kara sighed. "And Michael's not the only one in our family who doesn't like me. The rest all hated me, or should I say still hate me. My new aunts and uncles, and grandparents: to them I was just a glaring, living reminder that at some point in Miles Thrace's life, he'd screwed up. Their perfect brother/son who was known throughout the entire twelve colonies as a brilliant musician and composer had slipped up and gotten a lowly marine pregnant while he was still technically married to the woman carrying his son."

Kara took a deep breath, hardly believing that the story had come pouring out so quickly and easily. The air was tense and she could tell Lee was struggling to find the right thing to say, so she saved him.

"So, who wins?" She asked, looking at him, forcing a smile onto her face. "Is your family more screwed up, or is mine?"

Lee stared at her, open-mouthed for a moment. "I'm so sorry, Kara. I had no idea…"

Kara shrugged, feeling surprisingly not bad after her trip down memory lane. "It's okay."

Lee shook his head. "No, it's…"

Kara sighed. "Look, I know it's a lot to take in. But I've had years to come to terms with it. What I have now might not be exactly the fantasy I'd been imagining at twelve years old, but it's still damn good. I have a home, one that doesn't change locations every few months. I have a dad who cares about me, a brother who tolerates me, and I know that if I ever screw up horribly there will be someone to bail me out. They might be pissed as hell about it, but they'd be there.

"Plus," Kara continued. "It beats whatever life I would have had with my mother, hands down."

Lee continued to look at her for a while longer, probably wondering if he should offer up more sympathy or not. "Have you ever seen her again?" Lee asked quietly after a few moments.

Kara shook her head and replied calmly. "No. A number of years later I learned that my dad got a restraining order against her. Apparently she's not allowed to come within twenty miles of me or something."

"Kara, I…"

Kara laughed softly, trying to hide the growing unease she felt by his stare. "Lee, it's fine. You don't have to say anything."

"I feel like I should," he said softly, his voice full of concern.

Kara smiled. "Well, thanks, but I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

Kara was warmed by the question, not entirely surprised to find she liked the fact that Lee genuinely cared. "Yeah," she told him honestly. "I'm fine."

* * *

The next morning Kara slept in. It was still pouring relentlessly outside and the night before Lee and her had decided to skip their morning run if it was still raining. As reluctant as they both had been, the torrential downpour and corresponding epic amounts of mud were the deciding factors.

When she finally did make her way downstairs, Kara smiled. She could hear someone cooking in the kitchen, and since Michael had no culinary skills whatsoever to speak of, she knew it was Lee.

A lot had happened between them the day before, and she wasn't even thinking solely about the sex. She thought that maybe with all that had changed between them in twenty-four hours she should possibly be nervous, but she wasn't.

Kara walked quietly into the kitchen, watching Lee as he chopped up something on the cutting board, possibly a red pepper from the smell of it. She smiled to herself as she watched him, tucking her hands into her hoodie pockets and leaning against the doorframe. He seemed completely oblivious to her presence, at least as of yet. He was wearing a plain T-shirt and a pair of sweat pants, but that hardly took away from any of the attractiveness.

Kara's grin broadened as it sunk in that she really liked the shift that had occurred between them. This time yesterday she might have felt slightly guilty about ogling Lee so openly, but now she just felt naughty. A good naughty too.

At some point Lee reached to get something from the counter and caught sight of her from the corner of his eye. He whirled around to face her, a block of cheese in his hand.

"How long have you been standing there?" Lee asked, a smile tugging on the corners of his lips.

Kara shrugged as she pushed herself away from the wall and walked towards him. "A while."

Lee raised his eyebrow as he set the cheese down beside him. "Some might consider that stalkerish."

Kara grinned. "But you wouldn't."

"Oh really?'

Kara nodded, stopping only when she was a foot away from Lee. "No, you would consider it flattering."

Lee laughed quietly. "I would?"

Kara shrugged, smiling coyly. "You should."

Lee hooked his fingers in the two belt loops at the front of her jeans and tugged her forward so that her body was pressing against his. Then he kissed her. It started out sweet and soft, but it didn't last for long.

Before Kara knew it, her arms were wrapped tightly behind Lee's neck and their tongues were entwined in a heated and frantic dance. Gods, it was crazy. It hadn't even been a full day and already she was going insane with want for him. It felt crazy and at the same time oddly right, especially since she didn't need to hide it from him anymore.

Lee's hands slipped around to her back before making their way down to her ass, squeezing through her jeans, and pulling her another degree closer that she wasn't quite sure how he had managed. She moaned into his mouth as she felt the presence of hardening erection pressed tightly between them.

Suddenly Lee turned them around so that she was the one pushed up against the counter. He went to lift her up, but she moved his hands away, stopping him.

Lee broke the kiss and stared at her in complete confusion. "What's wrong?"

Kara smiled at him, unconsciously biting her bottom lip between her teeth. "Nothing. But as much as I would like this to continue, I am not looking forward to sitting on a pile of vegetables," she said, talking about the cutting board on the counter behind her.

Lee grinned, and looked over to her right. "Those vegetables?" He asked, smugly. Kara's eyes followed to where he was looking, and she felt it would have been appropriate had her mouth fallen open in shock. She looked behind her, and indeed, there was nothing there, and the cutting board had been moved.

"When…?"

Lee smiled, pressing up against her again. "When I was busy distracting you."

Kara opened her mouth to make some snarky comment, but whatever words she'd been planning to say were swallowed by Lee's kiss. Not wanting to fight it, she gave in, and soon Lee had lifted her up onto the counter, which put her head slightly above his, not that she minded the advantage.

At some point, when they were both nearly out of oxygen, Lee broke the kiss once again. However, before Kara could protest his lips had drifted down along her jaw to her neck. Kara felt her stomach tighten instantly. The afternoon before Lee had found the extra-sensitive spot on her neck, the one that several other men had failed to locate, and she hoped to hell that's where his lips were headed.

Unfortunately a noise prevented her from finding out. They both froze in place, listening carefully. A second later Kara could make out the sound of footsteps on the old, thankfully creaky, stairs. Lee jumped away from her and she hopped off the counter without hesitation. Whatever it was that was going on between them, they were under the unspoken agreement that they weren't going to tell Michael.

Kara walked past Lee, heading for the fridge, if only out of a need for distraction. Her arm brushed against his, and she had to fight the shiver from running up her spine. Lee caught her eye and smiled, something she couldn't help but return. He went back to chopping vegetables, and Kara pretended to be looking for something in the fridge. That's how Michael found them when he walked in.

"Morning," he said groggily, automatically heading for the coffee pot like every other morning.

Kara pulled a water bottle out from one of the refrigerator shelves and closed the door. "Hey," she said, trying to sound as casual as possible.

When he gave her an odd look, she thought she might have sounded _too_ casual, but shrugged it off. Her brother was usually completely oblivious to whatever she did, and she was almost certain it would apply to this situation as well. It was scary to think that in a few years he would be a full-blown doctor and responsible for saving people's lives.

"What are you making?" Michael asked, turning his attention to Lee, who was standing extremely close to the counter, probably trying to hide the evidence of what they'd been doing earlier. Kara had to bite her lip to keep from laughing out loud.

"Making omelets," Lee replied, impressing Kara with how calm his voice sounded.

"Awesome," Michael said enthusiastically. "You should come and stay here every summer. I never eat this well when I'm at home."

Lee shrugged and smiled. "Enjoy it while you can," he advised, and Michael smiled back.

"I'm going to go grab a shower," Kara said, setting her water bottle down on the counter beside the sink.

"Okay," Michael said, obviously not caring.

"I'll save you some breakfast," Lee told her, and she smiled as she headed for the stairs.

* * *

Lee and Michael chatted casually as Lee continued making breakfast. By the time he had the frying pan out and was cooking the first omelet, there was a lull in the conversation. With Kara not there, there was something he wanted to ask Michael. What she'd told him last night about her family was weighing heavily on his mind. He was amazed by how strong she was, having gone through so much already in her life. But the part that he found himself obsessing about most was her relationship with her brother. It was odd given that it was probably the least bad of all the things she'd told him, but Lee couldn't help it, that's what his mind had chosen to fixate on.

For as long as Lee had known Michael, he'd considered him an overall great guy. He was a good friend: great at listening, fun to hang out with, caring. The fact that those characteristics weren't applicable to his relationship with his sister bothered Lee. He'd never known Michael to hold a grudge against anyone, so he wondered if Michael was even aware that he was doing it.

"So," Lee said conversationally as he flipped the eggs over in the pan. "I was talking to Kara last night."

Michael was standing next to Lee, leaning against the counter beside the stove, coffee mug in hand.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," Lee said. "I had no idea about the circumstances revolving around how she came to live here."

Michael just stared at Lee in confusion. "What are you going on about? Kara came to live here when I was twelve. You remember, you hung out at our house that summer."

Lee nodded. "Yeah, I know that. But I'm talking about her mom. Your dad did a really great thing."

Michael didn't look any less confused. "What?"

Lee opened his mouth to reply, but stopped when he heard Kara coming down the stairs. "I'll tell you later," Lee said quickly before returning his attention back to the eggs in front of him.

"Okay…" Michael said slowly, before moving to pour himself some more coffee.

"Smells good," Kara stated as she walked back into the kitchen, the only real difference being that her hair was now wet. She smiled and winked when Lee caught her eye.

He smiled back. "It'll be ready in a minute."

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

The next few days were torture on Lee: it seemed like no matter how hard he tried, he could not get any alone time with Kara. It was as if everywhere he turned, Michael was there. What was worse was that he couldn't even take solace in their runs, because the torrential downpour continued on relentlessly. And if by chance he did find himself with a Michael free moment, Kara was at work. He was getting all too tired of his bad luck.

He felt bad, not wanting to spend time with Michael, especially since that was one of the main reasons he'd come to the Thrace house in the first place, but at the same time he probably wasn't feeling bad enough, because all he could think about was Kara. Now that there was this… something, going on between them, there was no way he could convince his mind that thinking about her was off limits. Which meant he did think about her, a lot. It was crazy, and beyond insane, but on top of that, he was also happier than he remembered being in a long time.

Lee was pulled from his thoughts by a knock on the closed door to the guest room. He set down the book that he hadn't really been reading and checked his watch quickly, disappointed to see that it was only eight o'clock; there was no way Kara was back from work yet.

"Hey," he said lightly as he pulled open the door to reveal his best friend. Michael smiled at him, holding up a rented movie in his hand. Lee noticed that his blonde hair was wet and he smiled. "You braved the rain?"

Michael nodded and passed the movie to Lee. "Yeah, it's still nuts out there. But the news said something about it maybe letting up tomorrow. Crazy Delphi weather, hey?"

Lee laughed lightly. "Yeah, it's one thing I don't miss about living here." He briefly skimmed over the description on the back of the movie case. He thought that he might have maybe seen a preview for it a while back, but he'd never watched it.

"You seen it?" Michael teased, knowing full well that the chances were minimal.

"No," Lee said, shaking his head as he walked out of the guest room and towards the stairs, Michael following behind him. "It looks good though."

"Yeah," Michael said from behind him. "Someone I know from school told me it was great, but I haven't seen it yet either."

It wasn't long before they had made some popcorn, grabbed a few beers from their seemingly endless supply and sunk into the plush couch, getting comfortable.

Lee kicked his feet up onto the coffee table and leaned back, relaxing, as the previews popped up onto the screen. He wasn't really all that focused on them, but he was still surprised when Michael spoke up. Normally he loved to watch movies in complete silence. "Lee, can I ask you something?" He sounded almost unsure, which was enough to completely draw Lee's attention away from the screen and towards his friend.

"Sure," Lee replied honestly, wracking his brain, wondering what this might be about.

"It's about Kara," Michael added slowly, and for a second Lee's heart began beating at double its normal rate. Michael couldn't know, could he? They'd only had sex once, not at the house, and since then there may have been furtive looks and suggestive glances, but he'd thought they'd kept them unnoticed.

"Okay," Lee said, forcing his voice to remain calm. It was only then that he realized he was clutching his beer bottle much more tightly than was necessary. Worried about possibly dropping it, Lee set the bottle down on the coffee table, forcing his hand to let go.

The previews before the movie were still playing, but Lee was so focused on Michael that he barely heard the noise in the background. "What you said, the other day in the kitchen…" Lee felt relief wash over him and his muscles instantly relaxed, though none of his attention faded. "What were you talking about? You said something about Kara's mom, and my how my dad did the right thing."

Initially Lee had planned to finish the conversation he'd started with Michael that morning in the kitchen, but then he'd … well, he'd lost his nerve. He had a hunch that Michael didn't know the whole truth, and that if he did his relationship with Kara would be quite different. The thing Lee loved most about his family was his good relationship with his brother. He was sure that Michael and Kara could have the same type of thing if only they were both on the same page.

Explaining things to Michael had seemed entirely logical until he realized that maybe Kara didn't really want him to know. Certainly if she did, she could have told him herself. But then the other part of his brain argued that Kara wasn't the type of person to try and fix something like that on her own, not if she was the only person hurting because of it. Since then he'd debated over what to do, but with Michael now asking, Lee's choice had been made for him.

Lee took a deep breath, trying to figure out how it would be best to proceed. "What do you know about Kara's mom?" He asked after a moment, settling with simplicity.

Michael shrugged. "My dad met her in some bar. They hooked up and then a bunch of years later they ran into each other, and Kara was there."

Lee nodded. "But what do you know about her mom, about what kind of person she was?"

Michael looked at him in confusion. "Why?"

"Did you ever wonder why your dad fought her for custody?" He asked, looking at Michael intently.

From the look on Michael's face Lee could see the thought had never crossed his friend's mind. "I thought he just…"

"Wanted to take a twelve year old girl away from her mother?" Lee asked.

Michael almost winced. "Well, when you say it like that it sounds slightly ridiculous."

"Yeah," Lee agreed, still staring at his friend.

"Well then why did my dad…?"

Lee sighed. "Come on, Michael. You have great parents, but that doesn't mean you don't know that bad parents don't exist, people who should never have kids."

Michael looked at Lee strangely for a moment before speaking cautiously. "Wait, does that mean…? Are you saying that Kara's mom was…?"

"One of those people." Lee nodded. "Yeah."

Michael seemed unsure. "I don't know, Lee. I've never heard my dad or Kara say anything about that. Are you sure you understood what she was saying?"

"Michael, trust me, I understood her perfectly." Lee watched Michael closely for a moment, and then he couldn't help but add. "She's your _sister_." It was so hard to believe that his friend was entirely oblivious to everything involving Kara.

Michael stared at Lee oddly. "Yeah, I'm aware of that."

"Are you?" Lee asked, finding himself suddenly defensive on Kara's behalf. "Because if I didn't know, I probably wouldn't have guessed it."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the fact that you pretty much ignore her unless you can't get away with it, how you introduce her to everyone as your _half_-sister, and how I'm pretty sure I know her at least ten times better than you and I've only spent a few weeks with her in my entire life."

Michael rolled his eyes and laughed it off. "Come on, Lee, that's ridiculous. I know Kara…"

"Really?" Lee asked. "Do you know what kind of movies she likes? What kinds of books she reads? Why she decided to become a pilot? That she's one of the top first year pilots in all of the colonies? That your dad taught her how to play the piano and he told her she's a natural at it? That she was in a band in high school?"

From the look on Michael's face it was obvious that most of that, if not all of it was news to him.

Lee took a deep breath, realizing he'd gotten really worked up. "Michael, I know that your parents were thinking about getting back together up until the point where Kara was in the picture. I know that you wanted that, but the fact that they didn't isn't Kara's fault. You're holding a grudge, whether you realize it or not, and it's not fair to her."

Michael suddenly looked angry. "What the hell, Lee? Where is this coming from? Did you suddenly declare yourself her champion or something?"

Lee shook his head. "No. But I'm your friend, and I'm her friend. And I wish that the two of you could have the kind of relationship I have with Zak. You guys are both missing out on it."

Michael looked away from Lee to glare at the television, obviously angry. "You have no idea what you're talking about, okay? I'm not holding some stupid grudge. I know Kara. End of story."

Lee returned his attention to the movie as well, but he wasn't really seeing it. He wondered if he'd gone too far, or if maybe, he'd said just enough. Michael was like Lee in the fact that he hated admitting he was wrong, and for him to admit being wrong about something this big… it would take a lot.

* * *

Kara slammed her truck door shut and dashed through the mud and rain to the porch, making it in record time, thankfully without slipping. She'd left work early since it was extremely slow. Apparently the weather had everyone holed up inside their houses, not wanting to leave until it relented. That was fine by her.

What she was really hoping for now was to find Lee in the house, alone, with her brother having disappeared off somewhere. The chances of that happening were more than slim, but it had been days since the lake, and Kara was nearly going insane. To say that she wanted Lee again would be an understatement, and somehow his unattainability only made her want him more. She'd even dreamed about him the night before, not that in a million years she'd tell him so. And when she'd woken up, more turned on than she thought possible, it killed her knowing that he was sleeping one room over and sneaking in to ravish him in the middle of the night was not an option.

The moment she pushed open the back door and walked into the boot room, what little hope she had was dashed as she heard the sounds of a movie playing in the living room. Feeling slightly less happy to be off work, Kara kicked off her now muddy shoes, hung up her coat and headed into the living room.

The lights were dimmed almost all the way, but she could still see Lee turn his head and look at her. "Hey," he said, smiling.

She couldn't help but smile back. "Hey."

"Did you get off early?" He asked quietly, probably knowing her brother's low tolerance for talking during films.

She nodded. "Yeah. The place was pretty much dead." She paused for a moment, wanting to say something else, but then didn't because of the third person in the room. "I'll see you later," she added before heading for the staircase.

She had one foot on the lowest stair when she heard Michael say her name. "Kara?"

Surprised, she turned to face the couch in the faint light. "Yeah?"

Michael had paused the movie and was looking at her oddly. Suddenly she wondered if he was having a stroke or something. "Do you want to watch?" He asked, his voice casual. "We didn't start that long ago, and I'm sure Lee or I could fill you in."

Kara didn't respond immediately, waiting for whatever was supposed to come after that: a joke, a derogatory comment, something. But nothing followed.

"Um, okay," she said hesitantly. "I'm just going to go change."

She dashed upstairs, threw on some sweats and a light sweater, and when she came back down she found that the movie was still paused, and Michael was indeed waiting for her. Lee moved over, making room for her on the couch and she sat. When she looked at Lee, the smile on his face was impossible to miss. It looked like he might be trying to hold it back, but if that was the case he wasn't succeeding.

Michael gave her a quick synopsis of what had happened before hitting play. Then he surprised her even more by passing her the popcorn bowl, which she accepted.

"Um, thanks," she whispered, and Michael muttered something back.

A few moments later she turned her head to look at Lee; the smile was still in place. Leaning over she whispered into his ear, doing her best to fight her body's reaction to his close proximity. "What did you say to him?" It was too much of a coincidence that just days after she'd told Lee everything her brother was suddenly being nice to her.

Lee shook his head, the movement minimal. "Nothing," he replied, whispering back at her, his lips lightly brushing her ear.

She shivered and hoped Lee hadn't noticed. "Liar," she retorted, making sure her lips made contact with the sensitive skin of his ear as well.

Letting it go for the moment, Kara sat back against the couch and watched the movie. She didn't know what to make of this change. It surprised her, how pleased she was to have her brother acknowledging her existence, but she didn't know that she necessarily liked the reason why.

TBC

**A/N:** Sorry for the delay in this chapter. I thought my work trip was going to happen, so I was all busy getting ready for it... And then it got postponed again. I will likely be gone soon though.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Things were ever so slowly changing between Kara and her brother. It wasn't anything huge, but the movie had been the start. Now Michael would do things like ask her how work was and actually pay attention to the answer and ask her what kind of pizza she wanted as opposed to just ordering his favorite, even though he found out they were actually one in the same. It was different, but Kara thought she could quickly get used to it, to actually having a brother. The realization made her smile. But when she considered why Michael's attitude towards her had suddenly changed, she didn't know whether to be happy or mad.

Neither Michael nor Lee had stated explicitly that it was Lee's doing that had caused the shift, but Kara knew it was. Not only was it the only reason that made even the slightest bit of sense, but she could also feel it in her gut. It was definitely the type of thing Lee would do. Part of her felt warmed by the knowledge, and the other part angry. Then there was a third part of her that was pissed off because she couldn't decide on which emotion to feel.

It had happened two days ago, and it had been on her mind consistently ever since then, frustrating her. She was now actually glad that she hadn't spent any time alone with Lee, because she was sure she wasn't going to be able to just pretend that he hadn't stepped in.

Kara hopped out of her truck and headed for the house, still trying to avoid the massive amounts of mud, even though the rain had finally stopped earlier that day while she had been at work.

When she stepped inside the house she smelled something delicious, something that wasn't pizza or another type of take out food, and she knew that Lee was cooking. After hanging up her coat she walked out of the boot room and the sight of Lee stirring something in a frying pan greeted her.

"Hey," he said after a second, even though he'd been looking at her since the moment she entered the room.

"Hey," she replied, just as hesitantly.

They stared at each other for a few minutes, until Kara finally broke the silence. "Where's Michael?"

"Oh, right," Lee said, looking sheepish. "He left about an hour ago. A friend called him up and they're meeting for dinner before going to see some midnight showing of a movie."

Kara folded her arms across her chest. "Oh. Okay."

She turned to walk towards the living room, but stopped when Lee spoke. "Are you mad at me?" He asked, his voice barely audible above the sizzling of whatever he was cooking.

Kara whirled to face him, something inside her snapping. "I don't know, Lee, should I be?" Her voice sounded caustic, even to her own ears.

Lee turned to face her completely. "Kara, I…"

"You told him," she stated venomously. "I know I didn't specifically ask you to keep it a secret, but it wasn't really an invitation for you to go around telling people either."

Lee shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, but didn't break her gaze. "I know that, Kara, but I…"

"You what?" She asked, almost yelling now. "You thought you were doing me a favor?"

Lee stopped fidgeting and crossed his arms angrily across his chest. "Actually, yeah, I did."

Kara huffed. "Well you know what? I don't need you to do me any favors. Poor Kara, she had a crappy childhood and I feel bad about it so I want to do something to make myself feel better. That's what was going through your mind, wasn't it?" She accused.

"You are seriously frakked in the head," he told her, talking almost as loudly as she was. "You have no idea what I was thinking, and just so you know, that certainly wasn't it. I was thinking that yes, you've been through a lot. You're an amazing person; stronger than maybe anyone else I know. And I was thinking that I wished you had the kind of relationship with your brother that I have with mine, because sometimes it's the only thing that makes my frakked up family bearable."

Whatever Kara had been expecting to hear, that certainly wasn't it. "Frak you," she yelled, not knowing what else to say.

"Yeah?" Lee said angrily. "Well frak you too. I'm sorry I cared."

Lee whirled around to face the counter, his hands grasping tightly at its edge. Suddenly overwhelmed by everything, Kara turned on her heel and headed for her room as fast as she could without running.

* * *

Lee had to make the risotto three times before he finally got it right. His mind was too preoccupied with his and Kara's fight to focus properly and he kept forgetting things, or getting the proportions wrong, or else just simply burning it. Eventually dinner was finished though, and he served two heaping platefuls, even though he wasn't hungry at all. He sighed dejectedly as he placed both plates on the kitchen table, wondering what he should do.

He highly doubted that Kara wanted to talk to him at the moment. Gods, he'd been an extreme asshole. He knew there was a chance Kara would be mad about what he'd done, a good chance, and his plan had been to let her be mad, explain it, and then wait for her to calm down. Normally he was good at following plans, but this one had flown right out the frakking window. He felt physically sick.

Glancing at the stove clock Lee saw that it had been almost an hour since Kara had arrived home. He didn't know if that was enough time for her to calm down or not, but he didn't want to leave things like this between them. Grabbing a fork from the drawer beside the sink, Lee slid it into Kara's plate of food and headed for the stairs.

* * *

Kara sat in her room with the lights turned off. She was on the bed, leaning against the headboard with her knees tucked up against her chest. She felt horrible. Her guess for Lee's intentions on telling Michael had been far off the mark. And the real reason… she really didn't deserve to have someone in her life like that, who just honestly wanted to make things better for her. And on top of it she had yelled at him for it. Gods, she felt like shit.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a light knock on her door. She nearly jumped, not expecting it at all.

"Come in," she said quietly.

The door opened to reveal Lee carrying something in his hand. "I, um." He paused, taking a deep breath. "Thought you might want some supper."

He placed the plate on the empty corner of her nightstand, then after a moment turned and walked out.

Kara immediately sprang to life, hopping off her bed, grabbing the plate, and dashing out the door. Lee was only three steps down the stairs when she exited her room. She smiled at him tentatively. "Do you want to, um… I don't… watch a…movie?" Her words came out lacking so much eloquence that had the situation been different, Kara would have been tempted to laugh.

She was relieved when Lee smiled back. "Yeah," he said sincerely.

They went downstairs and Lee grabbed his plate of food from the kitchen before sitting down on the couch, next to Kara. He wasn't more than a foot and a half away, but the gap between them felt large. Lee was about to turn on the TV, when Kara blurted out, "I'm sorry."

Lee dropped the remote on the cushion beside him and turned to look at her. "No, Kara, I'm sorry. I never should have… it wasn't my place to…"

"No," she said, interrupting him. "I'm glad you did."

"Really?"

She nodded, not quite able to meet his gaze. "I'm just… not used to people doing things like that for me," she admitted quietly. "Thank you," she added after a moment, and Lee smiled.

"You're welcome," he responded, just as sincerely.

They remained like that for a few seconds before Kara broke the silence. "Are we okay?" She asked, thinking she knew the answer, but wanting to hear it to be sure.

Lee grinned back at her. "I certainly hope so."

Kara laughed. "Fighting's not really that fun," she stated lightly and Lee laughed.

"Yeah, not so much."

"So what are we watching?" Kara asked, genuinely happy now that all the awkwardness and confusion between them was gone.

"I have no idea," Lee replied. "I thought we could probably pick something from your huge collection over there." He pointed at the large bookcase filled with movies, as well as the overflow pile on the floor.

Kara stood up, abandoning her food on the coffee table and walked over to the pile. She sat down cross-legged on the floor beside it. "Well, there are only about a billion choices," she said as she began to flip through the pile. A moment later Lee had gotten up and was sitting down next to her, looking over her shoulder. She smiled as she passed him a stack of movies.

* * *

It took them nearly half an hour to make it through the Thrace collection of movies, and another ten minutes to actually decide on one. By the time the movie was in and the opening credits were playing, their food was completely cold. Lee grabbed both of their plates, stealing Kara's directly from her hands while she was halfway through telling him that it tasted fine cold, and went to the kitchen to microwave them.

When he came back to the living room the movie was just starting and he passed Kara her plate before sitting down next to her on the couch, slightly closer than earlier. Lee was suddenly starving, as was Kara he decided, because it wasn't long until both their plates were clean and sitting on the coffee table beside their propped up feet.

Lee smiled when Kara's feet, one crossed over the other, leaned sideways and bumped into his. He didn't look away from the movie, but retaliated by doing the same thing. He thought he heard Kara laugh and his smile widened. Then she did it again, and he did it again, and soon their socked feet were continually bumping against each other. Eventually Kara broke out into a loud laugh. "Gods," she said once she caught her breath. "We are so mature."

Lee laughed too, and then bumped his feet into hers once more and her laughter renewed itself. They continued the stupid little game as the movie played, and with each passing second Lee found himself paying less attention to the story being told in front of them, and more attention to the woman sitting beside him. He snuck several sideways glances at her, sometimes catching her doing the same. Also, he was all too aware of her close proximity.

"Hey, Lee," Kara said quietly, not turning to face him.

"Yeah?" He didn't turn to face her either.

"Are you actually watching this?" Her voice had dropped to a whisper.

"Not really," he admitted.

He heard her sigh happily. "Me neither."

Then the next thing he knew Kara was straddling his lap and her lips were crashing down on his forcefully.

He cupped her face without hesitation, kissing her back with just as much enthusiasm as she was kissing him.

"Do you know," she asked him between kisses. "How long it's been since the lake?"

"Too long," he replied, his hands searching blindly for the remote, shutting off the television before tossing the now useless device aside.

"Uh huh," Kara agreed as her hands slipped down his chest, reaching for the bottom of his shirt and tugging it free from his pants.

Lee could feel his erection fighting against the confines of his suddenly too tight pants, and he wanted her, more than anything. But even though their first time had been rushed, their second time didn't have to be.

He grabbed Kara's wrists with both his hands before they could start on the buttons of his shirt. She stopped kissing him to look at him in confusion. Both of them were panting for breath, and Kara's face was flushed in much the same way Lee imagined his was.

"What?" She asked.

Lee smiled before kissing her softly, slowly, not releasing her wrists. She kissed him back, but when she tried to speed things up, he didn't let her. "There's no thunderstorm," he whispered against her cheek, which was pleasantly warm against his lips.

"What?" She asked, whispering back.

Lee's lips slid gently along her skin, breaking into a smile. He kissed his way down her jaw lightly and slowly, explaining between each contact of their skin. "It's only…ten thirty…Michael won't be… home until… later. We don't…need…to…rush." He finished by sucking once on her pulse point, and Kara's hips ground against him hard.

She surprised him by taking the tip of his ear between her teeth, biting gently before saying, "But I like it fast."

Lee didn't know if it was physically possible, but he thought he might have hardened even more upon hearing those words. However, he stuck to his resolve. Once again his lips found the sensitive spot on Kara's neck, and he kissed, increasing the suction ever so slightly until eventually it was almost too much for her and she was practically trembling. "Lee," she said, her voice so soft that he barely heard her. He sucked just a little more. "Lee," she moaned again as her hips rocked against his before she gasped and fell forward against his chest.

He chuckled against her neck and she shivered. "And I," he explained. "Like it slow."

He felt her smile against his neck. "Fine," she said, after regaining her breath, though Lee was pleased to note that her voice had acquired a shaky quality. "We can try it your way."

* * *

Lee's way, Kara figured out, was soon to become her way as well. She was all for the fast, hot, sweaty, down and dirty frakking, but this… there was something to say for taking it slow as well.

The way Lee kissed her, so leisurely, and how his hands roamed her body, lingering at every curve, caressing gently; it was more erotic than anything she'd ever experienced in the past. And the way he looked at her… it made her feel like the most beautiful woman in the world, something she knew she was not.

The whole slow thing, also gave her a chance to fully take in Lee's body, drinking in the sight of him and using her hands, teeth and tongue to determine what exactly he liked best. It was a completely different approach to sex than she was used to, but she realized that she loved it.

They were both completely naked now, with Lee lying stretched out on his back with Kara straddling him. She grinned slyly as she wrapped her hands tightly around his wrists and extended his arms over his head. When she leaned down her nipples brushed lightly against the fine hairs on his chest, causing them both to gasp. Kara almost laughed, and leaned forward even more, Lee's erection now pressed firmly between them.

"Kara," he moaned, tilting his head to try and catch her mouth with his.

"I thought you liked slow," she said as she rubbed her body against his at an agonizing pace.

He grinned up at her. "I do."

"Good," she replied, kissing him for the briefest of seconds before kissing her way down his jaw and biting lightly on the tendon of his shoulder. His body twitched beneath hers and Kara felt another intense rush of arousal.

After several more minutes of torturing Lee, she finally decided to stop and give them both what they so desperately wanted. Releasing Lee's wrists, she used one hand to brace herself against his chest and the other to guide his erection inside her as she lowered herself down onto him.

Lee made a low guttural sound deep in the back of his throat and Kara had to bite her lip to keep in the whimper of pleasure that threatened to escape. His hands almost immediately found their way to her hips, keeping her still for a moment. Kara looked down at Lee, catching his eyes with hers. For a second she couldn't even breathe. Then she slowly began moving against him and Lee's fingers dug deep into the flesh of her hips.

She wanted to move faster, but she held back, keeping her movements minimal. Slowly, she felt the pressure building low in her stomach. Lee braced his feet on the couch, digging his heels into the cushion, and began to match her pace with the rise and fall of his hips. They moved together for what seemed like forever, and yet like no time at all, until finally Kara was on the brink of release. It only took one quick glance at Lee to tell he was too.

One more slow but sure thrust of Lee's hips and she was gone, her hands clutching at him tightly as waves of pleasure rolled through her. No more than a few seconds later Lee followed her off the edge, finding his release inside of her.

All of her energy spent, Kara could do little to refrain from collapsing against Lee's chest. Thankfully he did not seem to mind, and in fact wrapped his arms around her back while they both caught their breath.

"Wow," Kara murmured against Lee's neck, still not quite sure what she had just experienced.

"Yeah," Lee agreed, his breath creating tiny goose bumps on her sweat dampened skin. "Wow."

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Kara grinned as she looked up at the clock hanging behind the bar and saw that it was five past seven. Her shift was now officially over, and she could head home. She'd been counting down the minutes since practically the moment she'd arrived at eleven that morning. It wasn't that she hated her job, and it hadn't even been that slow during her shift, but she really wanted to get back to her house. Lee was there, and with any luck Michael would be off somewhere else and… well, if it turned out like any of the other times they'd slept together in the past three weeks, it would be nothing short of amazing.

Of course the actual chances of Michael not being home were slim, but it didn't keep her from hoping.

"You look happy," Tony said as he walked out from the back storeroom. He had two cases of beer in his hands, one stacked on top of the other. He lifted them onto the counter.

Kara shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly as she turned to face him, though her smile was still firmly in place. "Well, my shift is over, and I'm now free for the rest of the evening."

Tony smiled back. "Meeting someone?" He asked, a hint of teasing in his voice.

"No," Kara lied, though try as she might, she couldn't make her smile disappear.

"Uh huh, sure." Tony obviously didn't believe her, but Kara didn't really care.

She grabbed her truck keys from inside the drawer of the cash register and headed for the exit. "See ya," she told him.

"Have fun!" He called out at her retreating back.

* * *

Although anxious to get back, Kara's plans changed slightly when she stepped out of the nicely air-conditioned bar into the still scorching Delphi summer evening. Tiny beads of sweat automatically began to form on the nape of her neck, and she brushed the reminder of the heat away with one hand.

After hopping into her truck and rolling down the windows all the way, she headed for the nearest grocery store and picked up four pints of ice cream. Ice cream was a summer staple in any Delphi household, and the Thrace's freezer was almost out. Thankfully the pit stop only took her a few minutes, and before long she was driving out of town on the highway, heading for her place.

Kara pulled up the long gravel driveway just in time to see her brother exiting the back door. Hope rose in her chest, and she wondered if the gods were actually on her side for once.

"Hey," she said, after cranking down the stereo, turning off the engine and getting out.

Michael smiled at her, and made his way over towards her. "Hey."

Kara leaned back into the cab of her truck, through the still open door. Grabbing the bag with the ice cream she reached in quickly with one hand, squeezing the container; testing how much the ice cream had melted during the drive. It was getting soft, but it wasn't completely a pile of goo, which was good. She pulled the bag out of the truck, and shut the door.

"How was work?" Michael asked, once he was closer. He fished inside the pocket of his shorts while he waited for her to answer. Finding his car keys, he took them out and used the remote to unlock the small car parked a few feet away from her truck.

Kara shrugged. "Fine." She looked at him closely for a second. "Going somewhere?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I'm meeting a friend for dinner. I asked Lee if he wanted to come, but he seemed set on staying here." Michael shrugged, obviously dismissing Lee's behavior as odd. "I have no idea why…"

Kara had the bite the inside of her lip hard to keep from smiling. Instead of indicating in any way what she was actually feeling, she just shrugged back. "Well, have fun."

Michael smiled. "I will." Then he noticed the bag in her hands. "Ice cream?" He inquired enthusiastically.

Kara smiled politely and nodded. It wasn't that she minded talking to her brother, especially not after the newfound balance between them, but he was holding her up.

"Good," Michael continued on, and Kara had to fight back a groan as he kept talking. "I think we're almost out. I was going to pick some up, but I guess you beat me to it."

"Yeah, I guess so," Kara agreed, angling her body towards the porch and slowly starting to walk, trying to silently indicate that their conversation was over. "See you later," she said, in what she hoped didn't sound like an impatient tone.

Michael grinned as he walked around the driver's side of his car and pulled open the door. "Yeah, see you."

Kara almost let out of a sigh of relief when Michael finally got in and started the car before backing down the driveway. It took every ounce of restraint she had to keep from running the rest of the way to the door. She managed only until the point that Michael's car was out of sight, and then she bounded the last few feet, and up the stairs, trying hard not to rip the porch door off it's hinges as she pulled it open.

* * *

Lee was lounging in one of the kitchen chairs, reading the remnants of a day old newspaper when he heard footsteps heading for the back door. He shook his head and smiled to himself, assuming it was Michael having forgotten something. Lee folded the paper closed and stood up from the table just as he heard the back door swing open. He turned to ask his friend what he'd forgotten, when suddenly his arms were full and his lips were otherwise occupied.

Kara had flat out launched herself at him, and Lee barely managed to brace himself in time to keep them from both toppling over onto the floor. He grinned against Kara's eager lips as she pulled herself flush against his body, arousing him instantly. His hands slid into place behind her back, holding her there as he returned the kiss wholeheartedly.

Mouths parted simultaneously, and their tongues twined together frantically, leaving no doubt of their matching attraction for each other. When Kara shifted so that one leg was lifted up over his hip, Lee moved them so that Kara's back was pressed against the nearby kitchen wall, before sliding his hands down under her ass and lifting her up so that both her legs could wrap tightly around his waist.

They continued to pleasantly assault each other with their mouths, at least up until the point where their only two options were stop or pass out. Reluctantly, Lee found the strength to pull his mouth away from Kara's, before the lack of oxygen became too much. However, he didn't remove his hands from where they had come to rest on Kara's hips, his thumbs dipping below the waistband of her jeans to rub along the top seam of her underwear.

"You're not Michael," Lee said teasingly once he had regained enough breath to speak.

Kara looked at him oddly from her vantage point, before cracking up. Lee smiled while she laughed, still not moving from where he had her pinned between him and the wall. "If you're kissing my brother like this too, I'd say we have a problem."

Lee grinned, catching Kara's eye as he leaned forward, closing the distance between them. "Don't worry," he said softly. "We definitely don't have a problem." Kara's eyelids fluttered closed upon anticipation of the kiss, but at the last possible second, Lee averted his lips and angled his head to press his mouth against her pulse point. Kara gasped involuntarily, and her legs tightened around Lee's waist as he sucked lightly. When he knew Kara was just about to break, he stopped, pulling back so he could see her face. The look of pleasure there was quickly replaced by annoyance, and maybe even a hint of real anger. Lee had to stop himself from grinning too broadly in response, but it was the most adorable look in the world.

Kara settled for raising her eyebrow questioningly, in a very 'I'm not amused' way. Lee let his grin break through the barrier, and he slowly began to pull away from Kara, forcing her to unwrap her legs from behind his back and slide back down so she was standing on the floor.

"As much as I do love having sex in the kitchen," Lee explained before she could get truly mad. "Which we have done… several times." _Usually in the morning when Michael's still sleeping,_ he added silently. "I thought that with your brother gone for several hours, we should… oh, I don't know…" He spoke slowly, watching the annoyance disappear from Kara's face. He leaned in to kiss her quickly, though he was careful to pull away before she could make him forget what he was saying. "Take advantage of a bed."

Kara smiled at him. "Well, I guess we could…" she said coyly. However she caught him by surprise when she stepped past him, and headed for the boot room, picking up a bag from the supermarket that was sitting on the floor.

Lee had no idea where the bag had come from, even though the only logical explanation was that Kara had brought it in with her. His own inattention didn't surprise him though—Kara was a complete distraction.

She held out the bag in front of her, a fake pout on her lips. "But what about my ice cream?"

Lee smiled, an idea forming in his mind. He took the bag from her hand and set it on the table, reaching in and pulling out a container of chocolate: Kara's favorite. He kept that one in his hand, but the put the others in the freezer before walking back to where Kara stood. Holding it out between them, a somewhat questioning look on his face, he said, "We could just take it with us."

Kara's eyes brightened with shock and excitement. She grinned widely as she took the container from his hand. "Lee Adama…" She twisted the lid off the ice cream. "How is it that you have a kinky side that I don't know about yet?"

Lee grinned back, shrugging as he scooped out some of the softening ice cream with his index finger before drawing a line with it along Kara's jaw. His mouth followed the path his finger had taken, sucking the cold dessert off her skin slowly. She shuddered, her one hand coming up to involuntarily clutch at his T-shirt. _Oh yeah, _he thought smugly to himself, _they were definitely taking the ice cream with them._

* * *

Kara wasn't quite sure how they managed to even make it to her bedroom, but she was impressed. After all, the entire way their mouths had been locked together, and they had been _very _distracted. Kara did however manage to keep a firm grasp on the ice cream container, holding it upright even when they tripped going up the stairs.

Lee had pushed her back up against the closed door to her room, and Kara fumbled behind her with her free hand, trying to get the unruly doorknob to cooperate. Eventually she gave up and just kicked it once, knowing that would do the trick. And it did, though perhaps too efficiently. One second the door was supporting them both, and the next it wasn't. She was suddenly grateful that her other arm was wrapped so tightly behind Lee's neck, because it, in combination with Lee's quick reflexes, was the only thing that saved her from falling onto the floor ass first.

However, the almost fall did not lessen their momentum any. Lee turned them around and immediately began backing them in the direction of her bed, stopping only when the backs of his knees bumped the mattress. He sat down on the edge, but Kara remained standing. Lee's hands ran up along the outside of her hips and caught the bottom edge of her tank, sliding it up her midsection until it was bunched just beneath her breasts.

Kara bit her tongue to keep a whimper from escaping as Lee pulled her between his legs and set his mouth to work on her stomach. Carefully she set the ice cream down on the nightstand on her right, before threading her fingers through Lee's hair, encouraging the tantalizing actions of his mouth. He nipped playfully at the skin directly beneath her belly button, and she couldn't help but clench her hands in his hair. "Oh gods," she said, practically moaning under her breath, and she felt Lee smirk against her skin in response. Any other man she probably would have smacked for being smug, but Lee had more than earned his bragging rights with her.

Kara moved her hands down to Lee's shoulders and pushed him backwards on the bed. She grinned at him as she crawled up his body, straddling his waist and bracing her hands on either side of his head before leaning down to kiss him thoroughly. Lee's lips met hers eagerly.

During the kiss Lee's hands began to wander, unbuttoning her jeans and undoing the zipper. He tugged them down over the top of her hips and she broke the kiss just long enough to help Lee free both of them from all their restricting clothing. Then she was kissing him again, not holding back a single ounce of passion.

Lee's hands smoothed themselves up over her now naked torso, caressing as they went, until they finally reached her breasts. He cupped one with each hand, kneading lightly and causing Kara's body to feel like it was even more on fire. She moaned into his mouth, unable to help herself, and Lee tweaked each of her erect nipples once before returning to the slow massage. The sensation was too much, and Kara rocked back on her heels, crying out in pleasure. Her eyelids fluttered closed as she rode the wave of her first orgasm.

When the tension finally flowed from her body, Lee cupped the back of her neck, bringing her head down for a slow, but very heated kiss. Then gently he rolled them so that she was the one on her back. When she opened her eyes, she saw his intensely smoldering blue ones staring directly at her. Kara's stomach knotted instantly, accompanied by a sensation that she could only describe as butterflies.

But before she could even begin to ponder it, a hint of mischief twinkled in Lee's eyes, and suddenly something very cold was being smeared across her breasts. She nearly screamed at the intense sensation, but instead laughed, when Lee scooped another handful out of the container on the bedside table and lathered it all over the rest of her torso, neck, and even on her inner thighs.

"Hungry?" She asked as she smiled in anticipation, unable to help herself.

Lee grinned down broadly at her. "Very," he replied before lowering his mouth to the underside of her jaw.

He licked and sucked the ice cream away slowly, teasing her to the extreme. When he reached the sensitive spot on her neck, Kara's eyes very nearly rolled into the back of her head in pleasure. Her back arched of its own accord, causing her ice cream covered chest and stomach to bump against Lee's. He pulled back a fraction of an inch to look at her and she laughed. "What?" She asked incredulously. "Did you really think I was going to be the only one covered in ice cream?"

Lee smiled and shook his head before returning his attention to the chocolatey mess he'd created. Kara wasn't sure that she'd ever fully appreciated the talent of Lee's mouth before this. By the time he'd cleaned up her breasts, stomach, and was sliding down her body, heading for her thighs, she'd already had a second orgasm and was on the brink of a third.

His mouth found its way to the inside of the knee of her propped up leg. Starting at the bottom edge of the ice cream, he made his way upward until his nose brushed the sensitive crease of skin where her leg met torso. Just as Kara could have sworn she was going to break for the third time, Lee pulled back and turned his attention to her other knee, repeating the treatment on her other leg. By the time he made it back up to her center again Kara was trembling.

Lee glanced up at her through half closed eyes before finally placing his mouth where she wanted it most. His lips and the tip of his nose were cold and the blissful contrast between them and the heat between her legs was too much to withstand—she broke.

Kara was sure she would have screamed Lee's name had her lungs been working at all. Instead she clutched the sheets beneath her tightly in a death grip as her hips bucked upward and waves of pleasure coursed through her. Lee used his hands to keep a steady pressure on her hips, not allowing them to come off the bed. Despite the fact that she was already experiencing a full sensory overload, Lee's mouth didn't stop. His tongue slid eagerly between her wet folds, and the tip of his nose brushed lightly against her clit.

When Lee eventually pulled back from between her legs, Kara was almost on the verge of blacking out. One orgasm had quickly rolled into another, and another, and she had just experienced something she hadn't known was physically possible.

* * *

Lee watched Kara closely as she came down from her high—she was beautiful like this, with the raw emotion of the moment written across her face. It caused his gut to twist in a funny sort of way that he knew wasn't related to the throbbing erection he had.

It was several minutes before Kara's eyes seemed to focus on him, and when they did he smiled down at her, from where he was propped up on one elbow beside her.

She grinned up at him with satiated eyes, and then wrapped one hand lazily around the back of his neck, pulling his mouth down to hers for a lingering kiss. Briefly he wondered if she would be able to taste either the ice cream or herself on his lips, or possibly both. The thought caused a rush of arousal, and he couldn't help but moan.

Kara broke the kiss, quickly glancing downwards, and her eyes took on a look of pity. "Want me to help you with that?" She asked.

But before he could answer she had grabbed his shoulders, pushing him flat onto his back, with his cock standing painfully erect between them. Kara knelt on the bed and reached for the tub of ice cream, bringing it back towards his body with an impish look in her eyes. She sat back on her heels as she carefully tilted the container on its side, and let the now mostly liquid dessert trickle out slowly, making tiny drops all over his chest. Lee inhaled sharply as the first one hit his skin, and Kara grinned even wider.

When it looked like he'd been hit by the shrapnel of an exploding chocolate bomb, she stopped and put the container on the nightstand again. She kissed him once, quickly, before trailing a finger from his chin, straight down his chest. She didn't stop when her finger reached his bellybutton, but kept on going past it, lower. Lee's breath caught in his throat when her nail gently traced a line up one side of his erection and down the other. When he was confident he could breathe again, Lee looked down at Kara, only to find her smiling at him coyly before opening her mouth and going down on him.

* * *

Over two hours later Lee upended the ice cream container, pouring what little was left in a line down Kara's spine. Her face was buried in her pillow, and she was half asleep, but she jumped at the feeling of the now warm liquid hitting her skin. He laughed quietly, before leaning over so that he could lick it back off of her. His tongue made one long stroke, starting from where the sheet was barely covering her bottom, up to the nape of her neck. She mumbled something into her pillowcase, but he couldn't quite make it out.

Lee leaned across her back, whispering into her far ear. "Can't hear you…"

She angled her head towards him and said slowly, "I'm all sticky."

Lee laughed and kissed her shoulder. "So am I. I guess it's a side effect of the ice cream." He slowly kissed along the top of her shoulders until his mouth was poised by her other ear. "Maybe we should shower."

"Smart and sexy," Kara murmured.

Lee chuckled softly. "Shower together," he added.

Kara rolled onto her back, looking up at him with a smile. "As much as I…"

Lee kissed her before she could get more out. She kissed him back for a few seconds, until she remembered she'd been in the process of saying something. Obviously she was determined to finish, so Lee let her talk, but tried instead to distract her with suckling kisses placed all over her collarbone.

"As much as I would like to agree to that idea…" She paused for a moment as Lee hit a particularly sensitive spot, but then she kept going once he'd moved past. "We can't," she stated bluntly.

Lee sighed in defeat and stopped his ministrations. "Because of Michael?" He guessed.

Kara nodded, shrugging her shoulders slightly.

He knew she was right, they really couldn't. They'd become too careless of late already. The last thing they needed was to try and explain to her brother why they were both coming out of the bathroom at the same time.

"Speaking of which…" Kara added as she rolled over onto Lee, reaching across the bed, while his hand involuntarily came up to wrap behind her waist. "What time is it?" She grabbed the clock on her nightstand and angled it towards them. She made a face at the digits on the display. "He'll probably be back soon," she said matter of factly, though Lee thought he might have heard a hint of regret in her voice, or perhaps he was just hoping he'd heard it.

"Yeah," Lee agreed, smiling weakly at Kara as she rolled back off of him and hopped out of her bed. He watched unabashedly as she pulled the bath towel from the hook on her closet and wrapped it around her body.

She caught Lee's eye and smiled before padding gently across the floor of her room, and out of the door, heading for the bathroom.

* * *

Back in her room, Kara put on a fresh set of clothes from her dresser. As she grabbed her favorite hoodie from beside the laundry pile on the floor, which now included her very sticky sheets, she heard the shower turn on from across the hall. Smiling to herself she made her way into the hallway, and down the stairs, trying not to walk stiffly. She entered the kitchen and was just about the raid the cupboards for some food when she heard the doorbell ring. Glancing at the stovetop clock, she confirmed her suspicions: it wasn't that late, but it was still late enough. Unless Michael had somehow managed to lock himself out of the house, she had no idea who it was.

Kara strode across the kitchen, heading for the boot room and flicking on the porch light as she went. When she pulled open the door, she was shocked to see who was standing on her porch.

"Sam?"

TBC


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** I am_ so _sorry for the wait on this chapter. Seriously. I will do everything I can to make sure the next chapter is up in less time than this one was. Unfortunately it looks like work might take a turn for the busy again, but it doesn't mean I won't try my hardest. And also, no matter how delayed a chapter may be, I definitely plan on seeing this fic through to the end. :)

_Previously:_

_Kara strode across the kitchen, heading for the boot room and flicking on the porch light as she went. When she pulled open the door, she was shocked to see who was standing on her porch._

"_Sam?"_

**Chapter 13**

Kara immediately felt all her muscles tense. Her arms came up to fold in front of her chest, in an almost defensive position. Whoever she'd been expecting to find at the door, Sam was pretty much at the bottom of the list, so far down he hadn't even been one of contenders in fact. Truthfully, other than a few days after their breakup, she hadn't given him a single thought. Sure, they may have been together for a year, but it hadn't been that serious, not really. And yet, here he was, on her porch.

"Hey, Kara," he said slowly, shifting his weight slightly from foot to foot, his shoulders hunched and his hands buried deep in the pockets of his jeans. "How are you?" He asked tentatively.

Kara stared at him incredulously. No, there was no way he was doing this. "What the frak do you want Sam?" She may not be hung up on him, but the fact that he had cheated on her with two idiotic pyramid fans, if not more, still stung. Or at least now she was forced to think about the fact again.

"Can I come in?" He questioned, still cautious with his tone.

Kara almost laughed. "No. You can't," she stated bluntly. "The most you can do is say whatever the frak it is you came here to say, and then you can leave. Honestly, I'd prefer it if you just skipped the talking part and left right now, but something tells me you aren't going to go for that."

Sam smiled, like he'd been expecting that kind of response. "I think I'd still like to do the talking part, if that's okay."

Kara sighed in resignation. "Fine, but you better talk fast."

"Okay," he said. "Kara, I… I came here to apologize to you, for what I did, all of it."

Kara stared at him oddly. "Are you trying to get back together with me?" Anger flowed through her, and her hands clenched into fists. The urge to give him another shiner was almost overpowering.

Sam shook his head. "No, Kara, I'm not. You deserve someone better than me, at least better than who I am right now." He sighed, and pulled one hand out of his pocket to run it through his lengthening hair. "I just wanted a chance to tell you how sorry I am. I figured if I called you wouldn't answer, or you'd just hang up, so…"

"So you figured stopping by late at night unexpected was the solution to your problem?" Her words came out with a bit of an acidic bite, but she really didn't care.

Sam shook his head. "Actually, I've been working up the courage to come since about noon."

Kara didn't know what to say, so she kept silent, her arms still folded.

"I am sorry, Kara. More sorry than you'll probably ever know."

He looked sincere, but she felt the anger building anyway. "Oh, you mean for cheating on me with two bimbos you picked up hanging around the team locker room?" A brief clip from that night, like a scene from a movie played in her head, fueling her words.

A look of guilt washed over Sam's face. "Yeah, that. And for everything else too."

Kara looked at him harshly. "So there were other girls too? I'm not surprised."

"There were, but… that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about everything else, about how I was probably the worst boyfriend in all of the colonies. I mean, when things started out between us, I thought they were great, that maybe you were… this is going to sound cheesy, but 'the one'. And then… I don't know what happened. I guess the fame just went to my head. I didn't even realize it, not until that night when …" He paused for a moment, choosing his words carefully. "…You broke up with me. Then I started to think about things, really think, and… gods, Kara, I didn't even recognize myself anymore. I don't know who I turned into, but it's a man I don't like. And I want to go back to who I was before. And…"

He sighed, obviously struggling to find the words he wanted to say, and in that moment Kara felt sorry for him. "I'm not asking you to give me another chance, or even to forgive me right now. I mean, maybe someday in the future we can be friends… but that's not why I'm here. I want you to know that I'm sorry, and that everything that went wrong between us was my fault, not yours."

"Are you saying that I'm blaming myself for your mistake?" Kara asked him, only a hint of the tension still in her voice. A part of her felt as if she should be angrier with him than she was, but never before had she seen Sam so genuine about anything.

He shook his head. "Not necessarily. I'm saying that although I was the shittiest boyfriend ever, I still know a thing or two about you. You blame yourself for things that aren't your fault, and I don't want you to blame yourself for this. And most of all I don't want this, what _I _did, to affect your future relationships." He paused for a second, looking her up and down. Then he smiled. "Or maybe I should say current relationship."

Kara tried to deny it. "I don't know what you're—"

Sam laughed. "Really Kara? You don't know what I'm referring to? The lazy clothes, the fact you just got out of the shower and it's late, and you're glowing like you always do after sex."

To Kara's chagrin, she blushed. Damn it, when did she start becoming a girly-girl. Before she could think up some sort of suitable response, Sam started speaking again.

"That's it," he said, smiling lightly at her. "That's what I came here to say. I'm sorry. And, uh… I guess I'll just get going."

As he turned to leave, Kara felt the remnants of her anger fade away. Never had she expected Sam to apologize to her, let alone go out of his way to do it, because he was worried about her. It was sweet, in a totally frakked up way. She doubted she'd ever be able to fully forgive him for what happened, but maybe she could give, just a little.

"Sam," Kara said softly, stopping him in his tracks.

He turned back around to look at her. "Yeah?"

She gave him a small smile. "Thanks for stopping by."

He smiled back, looking an equal mixture of pleased and relieved. "No problem."

"Maybe I'll see you around," she said slowly. "Some day."

He nodded. "Yeah, some day." With that he gave her one last smile before he turned and walked down the stairs of the porch, out into the darkness of the night.

***

Lee came downstairs just in time to see a man retreating off the porch, heading towards a dark shape that was likely a parked car. Lee paused mid-step, halfway across the kitchen and watched as Kara closed the door slowly. An intense curiosity as well as a flare of something else swirled around in his gut.

Kara turned around and nearly jumped as she caught sight of him—she'd obviously been lost in her own little world. "Hi," she said quickly, looking uncomfortable.

"Who was that?" Lee asked, trying to sound casual, but only marginally succeeding. When Kara didn't answer right away, he prompted again. "The man at the door."

"It was… uh, it was Sam."

It suddenly felt like Lee's insides had turned to lead. "Sam Anders?" He questioned in a flat voice. Anger flared unexpectedly, and Lee fought the urge to raise his voice.

"Yeah," Kara said slowly. "He just—"

"Are you guys back together then?" Lee asked, his voice had turned hard and cold. He wanted to hit himself for asking, for sounding like that, but the words were already out.

Kara's look turned into a glare. "No." He could easily tell that she was angry.

Instantly guilty, Lee opened his mouth to try and explain, but this time it was Kara who cut _him _off.

"He came by to apologize. You know, for being a complete jackass at the start of the summer. I don't know if you remember, but he did cheat on me."

Lee's guilt only intensified. "Kara, I'm sorr—"

"Just forget about it, okay?" Gods, she was mad. He could see it in every minute detail about her: the look in her eyes, her posture, the tone of her voice…

"Kara…" He was desperate to make this right, to somehow take his foot back out of his mouth.

"I said forget about it!" She all but yelled, the anger in her eyes only intensifying when he tried to talk.

For a second they stood in the kitchen, both barefoot, their hair wet from the shower that they'd almost taken together, and they were both looking at each other unblinking. Lee knew he could make this a real fight if he wanted to, but he didn't. He wanted to undo the last few minutes and go back to the blissful world they'd been lost in upstairs.

Lee nodded his head and said slowly, "Okay."

Kara walked directly past him, heading for the living room.

"I was going to make some food," he said quickly, turning to talk to her retreating back. "If you want…"

"I'm not hungry," she replied coldly, not bothering to slow her pace or even look over her shoulder.

Before Lee could think of anything else to say she'd reached the stairs, and had soon disappeared.

He sighed in frustration and sank down into tone of the kitchen table chairs. What the hell was wrong with him? He had no right to be jealous, but that was the only explanation for the feeling in his chest. It wasn't like they were really dating; more accurately they were frakking. They were friends with benefits, and no matter how awesome those benefits were, it didn't change the basic nature of their relationship.

Hell, he'd been in situations like this in the past. A couple times in college he'd hook up with the same girl repeatedly for no strings attached sex. When she had found a guy that she wanted to date, he was happy for her, and they parted on good terms. That was the beauty of a purely physical relationship.

So _if _Kara and Sam had gotten back together, Lee should have been happy for her, or at least he shouldn't have felt like someone had ripped the ground out from beneath his feet, leaving him flailing helplessly. Yet in the brief moment he'd believed that possibility to be true, that was exactly what he'd felt like.

***

The next morning Kara and Lee ran in tense silence. Kara was still a little unsure of how during the previous night they'd gone from being perfectly happy one minute, to fighting the next. Well, technically she knew _how_… but it didn't make sense. Lee had obviously been jealous when he thought she was back together with Sam, and he'd been hurt, but so what if her and Sam had gotten back together? At the very most Lee should be worried, because Sam had hurt her in the past, and Lee was her friend. However, no matter how hard she tried, she could not picture that scenario in her head. Damn it, this was not supposed to be complicated.

The sudden surge of frustration that hit her quickened her pace, and her feet pounded more quickly against the loam of the forest floor. Somewhere in the back of her mind she registered the sound of Lee's pace accelerating as well, keeping match with her, but it hardly stopped her from focusing entirely on her thoughts and letting her body automatically run its daily route.

They were friends, that was all. Lee hadn't exactly expressed any sort of desire for it to be more than that. And Kara certainly hadn't been hinting to him that this thing between them was anything more than sex.

It must just be that Lee was overreacting, that Sam's visit had caught him off guard. That had to be it; there was no other explanation, at least not one that didn't make her insides twist nervously.

Still frustrated, but now more so because she couldn't get the previous night out of her head, Kara upped her pace yet another notch, which Lee matched it. A few minutes later she risked a quick glance over her shoulder at him, and found him not so subtly ogling her ass. A second after, he looked up to meet her gaze, and to her surprise he flushed a little bit, his cheeks reddening more than was explainable by the run.

Kara felt the corners of her mouth tugging upwards in a smile, and she fought back a laugh. Lee smiled at her and she shook her head. Soon they reached the part of the trail where it widened, and Lee fell into step beside her instead of behind. When they neared the edge of the forest they both looked at each other at the same time, and said, "Race?"

Before she knew it Kara was sprinting full out, trying to beat Lee to the same gap in the trees as before. They narrowly missing colliding this time, and somehow still managed to reach the field at practically the exact same moment.

They slowed to a walk, and although Kara's lungs were burning, and sweat was dripping down her back, she forced herself to keep moving and not collapse onto the ground.

"Haven't done that in a while," Lee said, and Kara thought there might be a hint of hesitancy in his voice.

She eyed him for a second before replying. "We haven't." She smiled at him and he smiled back.

And just as quickly as it had escalated, the tension disappeared, and they were back where they had been before: friends who were completely comfortable around each other. Kara wondered if she was radiating the relief she felt. Maybe last night had just been a fluke. She'd chalk it up to some freak alignment of the stars, or some shit like that, even though she didn't believe in that kind of crap.

But there was a small part of her, a thought niggling in the back of her mind, telling her that this wasn't so simple. Pushing the rogue idea to the side where she wouldn't have to acknowledge it, Kara smiled at Lee enthusiastically before answering the question he'd just asked her, as they made their way back to her house.

***

Just before noon Jean called and asked Kara if she had plans for lunch. Not much later Kara found herself driving into town, heading for one of the good, but lesser known Delphi restaurants. She drove with both windows in her truck rolled all the way down and the stereo cranked up loud. Having mostly gotten over that weird bit of whatever with Lee, she was feeling pretty good. Something about it was still bugging her a tiny bit, but for the time being she was choosing to ignore it, hoping that it would simply disappear.

The two women caught up as they waited for their food inside the blissfully air-conditioned restaurant. Jean gave Kara a play by play of the C-Bucks' last game, which included a story of a miraculous goal they'd scored by sheer luck alone. But by the time their food had arrived, the conversation was turning to another topic: Lee. Kara supposed it was inevitable, especially since it was Jean.

"So…" Jean said before taking a bite of her hamburger. She chewed and swallowed quickly before continuing. "How's Lee?"

Kara felt a smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth. "He's fine," she said conversationally, taking a bite of her own hamburger.

Jean looked at her curiously, seemingly forgetting about her food. "Oh yeah?"

Kara shrugged. "Yeah…"

"So, you're not going to elaborate on that at all. Maybe explain the smile…"

Kara laughed. "There's nothing to explain."

Jean sighed. "Really? You guys still haven't hooked up?"

Kara looked at Jean oddly. "What are you talking about?"

Jean returned Kara's look. "Uh, you and Lee… Wait… Did you guys hook up?" Her voice took on an edge of excitement and she unconsciously leaned forward in her chair.

Kara's quickly ran over the last few weeks in her mind, and she suddenly realized that she hadn't seen Jean since at least a handful of days before the lake. She almost blushed. "Yeah."

Jean's eyes widened and for a moment Kara thought the redhead might bounce out of her chair from the excitement. Jean started drilling her with questions, all of which Kara responded to, though she had to admit her answers were a bit vague. Normally she didn't mind talking candidly about her sex life, but for some reason she was holding back this time.

Eventually Jean seemed to run out of questions. Well, either that or she was just starving. Their conversation halted for a few minutes while they polished off their food. Once both their plates were clean, Jean launched into it again.

"So what's going to happen at the end of the summer?" She asked, her voice having none of its joking quality from before.

Kara shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "What do you mean?"

"Well, isn't Lee going back to the Academy on Picon? And you're staying here for at least one more year, right?"

"We're not dating Jean… it's just sex."

Jean's eyebrow shot upward. "Really? You're telling me that there is nothing past the physical here. That this past half an hour when you've been talking about Lee, and purposefully leaving out the juicy details you'd normally be tripping over yourself to get out… that means nothing."

"Yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying," Kara responded quickly.

Jean obviously didn't believe her. "What about Lee? Does he think this is just sex? Come on Kara, I saw how he was looking at you. There was lust there, but there was something else too. Not to mention you two have been spending every free moment together that you can from the sounds of it."

Kara's stomach twisted unpleasantly, and unfortunately she knew exactly why. Jean, in all her bluntness, had pretty much hit the nail on the head. The thing niggling at the back of her mind, trying to force itself to the foreground was suddenly there: what if this was becoming more than sex? For a second she began to panic; maybe it already was more. Jean was right, she spent all of her time with Lee…

But then another part of her mind rebelled at the thought. That didn't necessarily mean anything…

"Look," Jean said, penetrating the fog of her thoughts. "I'm not trying to freak you out here. Lee just seems like an awesome guy. So many women would kill for what you have right now. I mean, maybe it didn't start out as anything more than physical, but things can change… Kara, I this is the happiest I've seen you since you blew out your knee, and at least a part of that has to be attributed to Lee."

She took a deep breath before continuing. "I'm not saying I know what's best for you. I'm just giving you my opinion on this, like I give you my opinion on pretty much everything." She let out a quiet chuckle at her half-hearted joke attempt. "Just think of it this way: you dated Sam for a year, and never in all that time did I see you talk about him, like you just talked about Lee. Maybe I shouldn't be comparing the two, but it's just how I see it. Lee is making you a million times happier than Sam ever did, and I don't think it's just because of the sex."

After that Jean let the topic drop, and their conversation switched to more mundane, every day things, but the second Kara hopped back in her truck to drive home, her mind returned to everything Jean had said.

Comparing Sam and Lee seemed idiotic, but only because in her mind there was no comparison, only a hands down winner. Yet in spite of that, her mind started down a track she wasn't sure she wanted it on. What if she walked into her house to find Lee on the couch with two bimbos? She knew it wouldn't happen, but it didn't stop her from imagining the scene she'd lived, but only with Lee playing Sam's part. She would have no right to be jealous, or to be mad, but even just imagining it made her hands clench into a death grip around the steering wheel.

When Sam had done it, she'd been hung on up on him for maybe a couple of days. But if she pictured it happening with Lee, she couldn't imagine being over it in such a short time. It would hurt so much more than that, and the thought terrified her.

TBC


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Lee was both happy and relieved when things went back to normal between Kara and him. Sam's appearance and Lee and Kara's subsequent fight were now just a blip in the past… for the most part. He would be lying if he said that he hadn't given the incident any thought after the fact; that it wasn't still on his mind.

The way Lee saw it; Sam's visit had simply caught him off guard. Some people might consider his spout of jealously as a sign of some sort of deeper feelings for Kara, but he had convinced himself that wasn't it.

Lee tended to be an idealist; he wanted to hope for the best with any given situation. It made him want to think that Kara and he could become something more, when they were really just friends. But the fact there wasn't anything more between them was a good thing, because if he tried to make it into something else… realistically the chances of it working were slim. It would only hurt them both, and completely frak up their friendship, something he didn't want to risk. Also, it was clear that Kara only viewed it as sex, which was all the more reason for him to as well. He was happy with the way things were, and the very last thing in the world he wanted to do was frak it all up.

***

Over the next couple of days, things returned completely to normal, at least on the outside. On the inside however, Kara was feeling entirely different. Try as she might, she could not get Jean's words out of her head. Her friend might be a bit of a goof, but at the same time, she had an uncanny ability to be right about these kinds of things. Maybe there was more than just sex between her and Lee.

Obviously they had a strong friendship as well, but was there even more than that? Every time Kara thought about the possibility, her stomach churned painfully and yet a part of her hoped it was true. However, the part of her that was doing the hoping shouldn't exist. She wasn't a romantic person, she never had been. Kara was practical, not idealistic. She'd been through too much shit already in her life to have an optimistic outlook. The fact that Lee was turning her into that kind of person… she wasn't sure if that was good thing or not.

Kara began to lose track of how many nights sleep she lost thinking about it. During the day, when she was around Lee, she was usually completely successful at not thinking about anything other than the immediate present. At night, when her mind had nothing to do but wander, it was completely different. One night, after nearly a week of not getting any sleep, Kara was lying in bed, tossing and turning when she decided that she needed to come to some sort of conclusion before she lost her mind.

Throwing the sheet down to the foot of the bed, and kicking it off violently, she sat upright. She ran her hands through her already thoroughly tousled hair, and bits of her conversation with Jean replayed themselves in her mind for the umpteenth time.

"So many women would kill for what you have… This is the happiest I've seen you since you blew out your knee… Didn't start out as … things can change…"

Kara nearly growled in frustration. This wasn't supposed to be complicated. It was supposed to be no strings attached sex between friends. Great sex, an inventive way to pass the time in the summer, but that was it.

However, if things could change, maybe they already had. If she looked at the summer from one point of view she could practically convince herself that Lee had feelings for her past friendship. But if she relived her memories with a different, more practical set of eyes, then it showed nothing past the obvious, nothing past what was supposed to be there. The problem was she had absolutely no solid evidence of how Lee felt, or what he was possibly thinking. It was all conjecture, and the uncertainty was screwing her up.

She supposed the real question she needed to answer was what did she want? Unfortunately she had no idea.

Her last relationship hadn't exactly worked out well, even before the cheating. Kara knew Sam had told her it was completely his fault, and that she shouldn't let it affect any future relationships, but… Kara sighed. She wasn't a typical girlfriend. She definitely wasn't the kind of girl a guy wanted to take home to meet his parents. Didn't Lee deserve someone like that?

Part of her rebelled at the thought, because Lee and her were happy when they were together. Because once again, Jean was right—Kara was the happiest she'd been since blowing out her knee, and if she was honest, Lee deserved a lot of the credit for that. And she'd like to think that she made him happy too. He certainly didn't seem to mind spending most of his time with her, whether they were frakking, running or just hanging out. It hadn't started out as anything more than friends with benefits, but Kara thought Jean was probably right again: things could change.

Kara's mind swirled with both sides of the situation and she let out a sigh of frustration. She still didn't know what to do, or what she wanted. But she needed to make some sort of decision, or this was going to drive her insane over the last two weeks of summer.

Suddenly, an idea formed and Kara smiled, even though she was alone and no one was there to see her. That was it; there were two weeks left still. The end of the summer was approaching, but it wasn't here yet. She had half a month left before she had to make a decision.

Maybe something between now and then would offset the balance and tip her to either one side of the fence or the other. It also meant that in the meantime, she could enjoy herself, and not worry about this stupid internal war. Before Lee left, she would make a decision, whatever felt right at the time.

Perhaps it wasn't the most perfect solution, but it would do well enough for now. Kara felt mostly satisfied by her choice of not choosing, and managed to fall asleep with a smile on her face for the first time that week.

***

Two days later, Kara was barely thinking about the future at all anymore. Every once and a while it crossed her mind, but knowing that she didn't have to make any sort of decision until the end of the month helped to relax her mind.

Kara wandered downstairs around mid-morning. She'd been awake much earlier, when her and Lee had gone for their run. But after coming back to the house and showering she'd promptly fallen back asleep. She'd had a late night, partially due to her shift at the bar, and partially due to Lee.

She smirked as she caught sight of him from the bottom of the staircase in the living room. He was lounging on the couch, his feet propped up on the coffee table as he read a book. He looked just about as lazy as she felt. Needless to say they'd become much more adept at sneaking around behind Michael's back, and there was rarely a night when they didn't manage to hook up. Determination was a wonderful thing…

Kara was about to say something to Lee when she caught sight of her brother peering out into the living room from the kitchen. Michael was looking at Lee, and seemed satisfied when Lee didn't see him. A smile formed on his face and he turned, presumably headed for the back door, but Kara stopped him.

"Hey, where you going?" She asked, her voice easily carrying into the other room.

Michael froze mid-turn and Lee sat up on the couch, glancing back at his friend. Lee's eyebrows rose in question. "Heading out?" He asked.

Michael nodded, trying to seem casual. "Yeah, just for a bit."

Lee shared a look with Kara before looking back at Michael. "Where are you going?" He asked.

Michael shrugged his shoulders. "Just… out."

Lee seemed like he was trying to hold back a laugh. "Oh yeah?"

Michael nodded. "Yeah. I'll be back in a couple of hours." He headed for the boot room, and both Kara and Lee watched him curiously as he hurried to jam his feet into his sandals and fish the car keys out of his pocket. As he was half way out the door, he called out behind him, "Don't make any plans for the rest of the day!"

Then the door shut and Kara turned to find Lee already looking at her. "Was he talking to you or me?" Lee inquired. Kara saw that his book was now lying on the coffee table, forgotten.

A smile crept onto her face and she shrugged her shoulders in response. "I have no idea," she said as she started to make her way to the front of the couch. "He's been acting weird lately. Or, more weird than usual."

"Yeah," Lee replied, chuckling slightly, "I noticed that too."

"Know what else I noticed?" Kara asked coyly, as she stopped, standing in front of Lee, who was still sitting.

Lee grinned. "I have no idea," he replied, his voice light.

"I noticed that my brother said he'd be back in a couple of hours, and you know what that means…"

Lee's grin widened substantially. "That means we have at least two Michael free hours."

Kara nodded, subconsciously biting her lower lip between her teeth while she smiled. She placed her hands on Lee's shoulders and pushed him back against the couch. A second later she was straddling his lap and his hands had already found their way beneath her T-shirt. Suddenly, she was not feeling lazy at all.

***

Lee leaned his head back against the armrest of the couch and tried to catch his breath. Kara attempted to do the same as she rolled off from on top of him, somehow managing to squeeze herself between his side and the back of the couch. Lee lifted his one arm and wrapped it around Kara's shoulders, pulling her closer against him, and stopping his shoulder from jamming into her in what he was sure had been an uncomfortable way. She didn't seem to mind the change of position and settled her head on his chest, while throwing one leg over both of his.

For a few minutes they just laid there. As Lee was about to suggest that they get up, for fear of being caught, Kara spoke. "I hate summer," she stated firmly, and Lee was caught off guard.

"Uh, why?" He asked, talking into her hair due to how she was curled around him.

"I'm all sweaty," she complained in a whiny voice, and Lee couldn't help but laugh. "Hey, so are you," she added as she rubbed her hand over his damp chest to prove her point.

"I think it comes with the territory," he told her as he smiled. Kara was a lot more amusing than most people gave her credit for.

"I need a shower," she stated after another moment. She sounded like she was resigning herself to a terrible fate.

Lee laughed and unwrapped his arm from her shoulders to that she could sit. He was surprised when she turned to look at him with an evil-ish glint in her eyes.

"What?" He questioned warily as he sat up as well.

She was still grinning as she leaned over to kiss him. Lee was just about to part his mouth to heat things up when she pulled away and stood up, leaving him dazed for a few seconds. "You need a shower too. And since we're sort of running on a schedule here…" She paused while she picked up her clothes from the ground. "We should approach this in the most efficient manner possible."

Lee grinned broadly when he caught onto her idea. "I think you might be right, Thrace."

She smirked. "I know I'm right, Adama."

Lee hurried to pick up his clothes and follow her into the shower upstairs.

***

Kara had been more than a little disappointed when Lee had kicked her out of the shower, before things could even get interesting. He had checked his watch, (which was unfortunately waterproof, because else wise he wouldn't have been wearing it), and pointed out that Michael could be home at any minute. She had grumbled and reluctantly left Lee in the shower while she towel dried her hair and made her way downstairs.

She was sitting on the couch, and had just turned on the television when Lee came down to the living room too. He smiled at her sweetly, and she really couldn't be mad at him. Because as much as she'd been looking forward to the rest of the shower, having to explain it to Michael might not have been worth it. Still, she couldn't resist teasing Lee, at least a little.

"So, how was the rest of the shower?" Kara asked as Lee took a seat beside her. "Lonely?"

Lee laughed and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Kara, but…"

She relented. "Yeah, I know." She turned on the couch, so that she was facing him, and when Lee angled his head towards her, she pulled him into a deep kiss that sent her pulse racing. After his hands had instinctively found their way to her hips, she broke the contact between their lips and moved her mouth to hover next to his ear. "But it would have been amazing…" she said quietly, and Lee groaned.

She laughed, and before she could pull away completely, Lee nipped her earlobe playfully. "Some other time," he whispered back, his deep voice turning her on more than she would ever care to admit. "I promise."

Kara beamed as she moved back into her own space. "You realize, I'm going to hold you to that."

Lee was smiling. "I expect nothing less."

A second later they heard Michael's car pull into the driveway, and Lee gave Kara an 'I told you so look', which she promptly ignored as she grabbed the remote and started to flip through the channels aimlessly. It wouldn't hurt to try and at least make things appear normal for when Michael walked in. Of course if her brother was looking for something to find, he might be suspicious, especially given that Kara's hair was still quite damp, and Lee's was definitely wet. But he was so dense about these types of things that Kara was certain he wouldn't guess it in a million years.

A few moments later they heard the back door open, and something that sounded like a bag hitting the floor. Kara couldn't help but be curious, especially with Michael's recent odd behavior. It seemed that Lee was too, because he hopped up off the couch and wandered into the kitchen; Kara followed.

The first thing she saw was Michael, dropping a second bag onto the floor. The second thing she noticed was the person behind him. He looked familiar, but before she could place it Lee spoke in an excited voice. "Zak?!"

***

Lee could hardly believe his eyes when he looked past Michael to see his brother standing in the doorway. Zak beamed at him and stepped around Michael, not hesitating to throw his arms around Lee. "Hey, big brother," he said lightly when he pulled back.

Lee grinned broadly. "What the frak are you doing here?" Despite his words, his tone left no room for doubt of how he felt about Zak's presence: he was thrilled.

"A couple of weeks ago I called to see if you were planning on stopping by Caprica City at all before the school starts up again, but you were out. So I talked to Michael for a bit on the phone, and he suggested that I fly out here and stay for a few days. And we figured this way I could surprise you."

Lee laughed. That would explain why Michael had been acting weird. "Well, you definitely surprised me." He looked Zak over for a moment, taking in the details. He seemed maybe a little thinner, his hair a bit longer, but overall not much had changed since Lee had last seen him. "You look good," he said. "So how are you?"

Zak smiled, but didn't answer. "Think you maybe want to…" He was looking in Kara's direction.

Lee felt slightly embarrassed as he clued into the fact that Kara and his brother had never met. Thankfully Kara saved him from further awkwardness by introducing herself.

"Kara Thrace," she said, smiling at Zak as she stuck her hand out.

"Zak Adama," he replied, shaking her hand briefly. "Nice to meet you."

"You too," Kara said, sounding completely genuine. "I've heard a lot about you."

Zak smiled at her. "As much as I'd like to say the same, I've heard absolutely nothing about you." Zak threw a quick glance to Lee, who ignored it.

It wasn't like he hadn't talked to Zak since arriving at the Thrace house at the beginning of the summer. They'd had a couple brief phone calls, and had exchanged a few emails, but the topic of his new friend with excellent benefits hadn't exactly come up.

"Kara's a viper pilot in training at the Academy," Michael added after a second.

"Oh," Zak replied. "So are you and Lee in the same flight class?"

Kara shook her head. "No, we're based in different cities. Same year though."

Zak nodded, before turning to Lee. "So, how's it been?"

Lee smiled. "Good, how's it been with you? How was your year at school?" They'd talked about Zak's second year at university a little bit already, but it was a lot better to talk about it in person. Zak filled him in on new stories that he hadn't told Lee, and also recounted some he had. In the mean time they had all found their way to the kitchen table, and someone, likely Michael, had pulled out four cans of soda from the fridge for them to drink.

Lee wasn't sure how long he spent catching up with his brother, but it must have been hours. When Zak ran out of things to talk about, Lee started to fill his brother in on his year at the Academy. As he talked he couldn't help but notice that his brother seemed less enthused by military stories than normal. At first he thought it might just be his hopeful imagination, but when he described a very entertaining sim run and Zak only smiled politely, Lee knew something was up.

Kara and Michael were talking quietly about their dad. Apparently he'd called earlier in the week, to let them know that he was going to be in town soon, doing a concert, and that he had tickets for them if they wanted. Michael wasn't that interested in Academy tales, and Kara had already heard the story more than once.

It made sense that neither of them were into the story, but Zak had always loved hearing about the military. Something was different, and being the brother he was, Lee called Zak on it.

"So is there something you want to tell me?" Lee asked Zak quietly. His voice matched his feelings: a mix of concern and a hint of hope.

Zak looked at Lee questioningly. "I don't know what you're talking about…"

Lee shook his head. "Come on, Zak. For years all you've been able to talk about was flying in the military, just like dad wants us to. Now I'm telling you all these stories about first year and if it weren't for the fact that I'm your brother, I'd think you could care less."

Even though the majority of Lee's attention was focused on Zak, off to the side he noticed Kara and Michael stop talking, and both subtly shift their attention to his and Zak's conversation.

Zak sighed. "Honestly, Lee, I'm not sure I want to become a pilot anymore."

Lee had to hold back an exclamation of relief. "There's absolutely nothing wrong with that," he told Zak without hesitation

Zak smiled. "I know. I mean, up until this summer I was planning to, but then Dad…"

"Dad?" Lee asked, wondering how the hell it was his father was connected to his brother's change of mind.

Zak nodded. "Dad gave me some other careers to think about."

Lee could hardly believe what he was hearing. He saw Kara throw a concerned glance his way, but he didn't acknowledge it, because he was too busy trying to wrap his head about Zak's words. "What kind of careers?" He asked warily, thinking that this had to be to good to be true.

Zak smiled. "A whole lot. Some in the military, some not. He knows that I'm doing really well in all my bio classes, and that they're my favorite. I think he must have stopped by some career guidance place or something, because he came home at the start of Galactica's overhaul with a whole bunch of pamphlets, and brochures and stuff. And he was letting me bounce ideas off of him, to see what I might be interested in doing."

Lee felt an unexpected lump form in his throat. His father had done that?

"So anyway, I spent a lot of time doing research, and thinking about it and… I'm pretty sure I want to become a doctor." He smiled widely, obviously thrilled with his decision. "Maybe a civilian doctor, maybe military, I haven't decided. But if I go military then they'll help pay for my school, and I think I still want to serve, at least for some time. So what do you think?"

It took Lee a second to collect his thoughts enough to answer. "I think it sounds amazing, Zak. Especially if this is really what you want to do."

Zak nodded, still smiling. "Yeah, it is."

***

Kara watched Lee and Zak's conversation, wondering the whole time how Lee was taking all of this. From the sounds of it, Lee's words during the previous semester break had a huge impact on his father. It was a good thing, Kara knew, but she wondered what Lee must was thinking. She knew that in his mind, fighting with his father was like bashing his head against a boulder: painful, tiring, and absolutely pointless. But it looks like in this case, the boulder may have moved an inch, or possibly a mile.

Of course, the first thing Michael did was hone in on the fact that someone else around was actually interested in medicine. He started to talk animatedly to Zak about different med schools, and profs, and a whole bunch of other stuff that Kara was not interested in at all. But she was glad, it gave her a chance to observe Lee unhindered. Unfortunately, he did look like he'd just gone a few rounds with a rock.

Kara was suddenly grateful that she was sitting in the chair next to him; it allowed her to do the next thing that came to mind. Slowly, so as not to attract attention, she moved her hand underneath the table and placed it lightly on Lee's knee. The touch caught his attention immediately, and the next thing she knew he was staring at her, a somewhat still stunned look on his face.

She squeezed her hand lightly and mouthed the words 'You okay?'

It took him a second, but the stunned looked disappeared and he nodded at her, a hint of a smile appearing on his features. She smiled back. Then from the corner of her eye, Kara thought she saw someone looking their way. She automatically pulled her hand back to her own side, but when she glanced over at the other two, they were still talking. However, a second later, Zak caught her eye for the briefest of moments and she could have sworn that he smirked. Except before the expression had a chance to fully register, his gaze had moved past her to look at Lee as he began to say something else.

TBC


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

For several more hours the group continued to talk about pretty much everything. At some point Michael grabbed a frozen pizza and tossed it in the oven, (his preferred method of cooking). Once it was done, they sliced it up and devoured it in about three minutes.

As they sat and talked, Kara kept glancing over towards Lee. She was pleased to see him so happy. He and Zak really did have a great sibling relationship and for the first time she thought she truly understood what Lee had been giving her when he intervened between Michael and her.

Just as a lull was starting to form in the conversation, Michael proposed that they go out and do something fun for the rest of the day. All three of the boys started making suggestions immediately. When someone knocked on the back door, their talking paused for a moment as they all stared towards the boot room, questioning looks on their faces.

"I'll get it," Kara said, standing up and making her way to the back door. That seemed to satisfy them and they went back to throwing out ideas of what to do for the rest of the afternoon.

Kara pulled open the door and was surprised to see Jean standing there. "Hey," she said, a smile on her face. She didn't realize Jean was holding something until the other woman was waving the item in front of Kara's face: a CD case with no front cover.

"You'll never guess what I have," Jean said excitedly, pushing past Kara right through into the kitchen, practically bouncing. Kara closed the door and followed her. "I was cleaning out my apartment this morning, and I found this." She moved to wave the CD in front of Kara's face again, but stopped when she saw the others at the kitchen table, staring at her. "Oh," Jean said slowly, possibly a little embarrassed, though the look was out of character for her. She smiled at the guys before turning back to Kara.

"Sorry," she said, "I didn't realize there were other people here."

Kara laughed. "Whatever, it's fine."

"Hi, Jean," Lee said from his seat, and Jean turned to smile at him.

"Hey, Lee. It's nice to see you again."

"You too," he replied amiably.

Kara couldn't help but notice the intense way which Zak was flicking his gaze back and forth between Jean and his brother. She ignored it for the moment as she turned her attention back to Jean. "Grab a seat," She told her friend.

Jean looked around for a second. "I don't want to interrupt…"

"Come on. You can't seriously tell me you're still cleaning your apartment."

Jean laughed. "Well, yeah, I am. But I guess I could use a break."

Kara smiled. "Good." Then she looked between Jean and Michael. "I'm assuming you remember, Michael."

Jean nodded. "It's been a while, but yeah."

"Hey," Michael said.

"And this," Kara continued, looking at Zak. "Is Lee's brother, Zak."

He practically tripped over his own feet getting up to shake Jean's hand. "It's so nice to meet you," he said. His words would have been normal enough, save for the hint of reverent tone, which caught Kara off guard. But after a second she pieced it together.

She laughed as Zak finished pumping Jean's hand enthusiastically. "You're a huge pyramid fan, aren't you, Zak?" Sometimes she forgot that people all over the colonies knew who Jean was. And just because Lee didn't follow the pro league at all, didn't mean his brother was the same way.

Zak nodded. "The C-Bucks are my favorite team."

Both Kara and Jean laughed. Jean smiled at him kindly. "Thank you. We try."

Zak turned around to look at Lee. "How come you didn't tell me you know Jean Barolay?"

Lee looked a little uncomfortable. "It slipped my mind…" He shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry, Jean."

She smiled. "No worries. I'm still not used to it myself."

Zak turned back to look at Jean, traces of admiration still evident on his face. "You're one the highest scoring women in the league right now."

Jean chuckled again. "You're definitely up on your pyramid. I'm impressed." She turned to look at Kara. "Just imagine how excited he'd be if he knew about Anders."

Kara was surprised Zak's jaw didn't drop open. He looked around at Kara, then Michael and finally Lee. "You guys know Samuel T. Anders too? The highest scoring rookie in league history?"

Kara wasn't sure if it was just her, or if everyone could feel it, but the tone of the room took a considerable shift. She could tell that Jean was regretting having said anything. "Sorry," her friend muttered quietly.

Thankfully Zak was quick on the uptake, and his voice took on a much more sober tone. "What am I missing?" He asked slowly, glancing around between the different people in the room.

It was Jean who filled him in. "Kara and Sam used to date…"

Kara forced a smile. "At least up until I broke up with him." She tried not to focus on the tense look on Lee's face. Maybe no one else had seen it, but to her it was plain as day.

"Wait," Zak said slowly, looking at Kara now. "Hold on a second. Does that mean you're…?"

A good portion of the tension eased with Zak's rambling, and Kara was grateful. She looked at him oddly though. "Does it what?"

"Kara Miles?"

Lee looked at them oddly. "What are you talking about, Zak. She's Michael's sister, her last name is Thrace."

She looked at Lee, ready to explain. She was surprised Zak had even made the connection. "Well, Thrace is my real last name, but when I played in amateur, I went by Miles. If I made it to the pros, you know, privacy."

Zak grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. I just remember reading some headline in the paper at the end of last year's season. Something about 'New Pyramid Star Dating Old Rival?'"

Kara vaguely remembered it. "Oh yeah, the rumor column." It was just like the press to be more interested in her relationship with Sam than the fact that she'd injured her knee badly enough to never play pyramid again.

Zak flushed slightly. "Okay, so maybe not exactly a headline in the paper…"

Kara laughed. "Well, it definitely would have said Kara Miles though."

Michael looked at her for a second, before adding. "I remember you spent a week brainstorming for a good fake last name, and eventually you just settled on Dad's first name."

"I had no idea," Lee said, obviously still surprised.

Kara shrugged. "Honestly, I didn't think it was important. I mean, I'm not playing anymore. I didn't even realize people knew who I was."

Zak turned his gaze to her now. "Are you kidding me? You were an amazing player. People definitely remember you."

Kara shrugged, beginning to feel slightly uncomfortable. "I don't know about that."

"No," Zak assured her. "You were ranked higher than even Anders, who is now taking the pro league by storm."

Jean smiled and said proudly, "That's because Kara was always way better than Anders. I should know, I played on the same team as her for four years."

Kara shifted from foot to foot. "I don't know about that," she repeated; the unexpected 'fame' making her uneasy.

Jean laughed. "No, you were way better than Sam."

Kara shrugged her shoulders and turned her gaze towards Lee, sending him a 'please help me look'.

Lee stood up and walked over towards where Kara, Jean and Zak were still standing. "I had no idea you were so famous, Kara."

"Yeah, me neither," Kara stated.

Zak coughed and looked slightly embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I'm being a huge sports geek. I wasn't expecting to meet any famous pyramid players today, but I promise I'll behave like a normal person from now on."

Kara smiled, feeling relaxed again. She liked Zak; he had a way of skillfully easing the tension, which she appreciated. "Don't worry about it," she said, glad that it seemed like this conversation was coming to an end.

Like his brother, Lee also had a skill, but his was switching the topic entirely. He reached out and grabbed the forgotten CD from Jean's hand. "So, what is this?" He asked curiously. Michael, the only person who had still been sitting, got up and came forward to look.

"Yeah," he added. "You seemed pretty excited to show it to Kara."

Kara took the case from Lee's hands and opened it, not unaware of the grin on Jean's face. When she recognized the homemade label on the front of the disc, she laughed.

"I cannot believe that you found this."

"I know!" Jean said excitedly. "I remember you saying that you'd lost yours, so I thought I'd give you this one back."

"Thanks, Jean."

"What is it?" Michael asked, looking over her shoulder. "What band is that?" He questioned, obviously not recognizing the name on the CD.

Lee grinned, having caught on. "The band you were in in high school?"

Kara smiled back at him. "The same." She wasn't sure if she was completely pleased with his level of enthusiasm or not…

"You realize we're going to have to listen to this," Michael said to her, a teasing grin covering his face.

Kara nodded. "That doesn't exactly surprise me." She grabbed the CD back from Lee, closing the case. "But, I think we should decide what we're doing for the rest of the day first."

The three guys looked at her in confusion and she sighed. "Remember, we said we were going to go out. You were all trying to brainstorm some great idea…"

"Right," Michael muttered. "I don't think we actually came to a conclusion."

"Not really," Lee agreed.

"Actually," Zak said. "The other day I saw this special on TV about how Delphi has the best lakes for cliff diving. Apparently there's a ton of them." He paused for a moment. "What do you guys think?"

Jean smiled at Zak and then turned to look at Kara. "Remember when we went cliff diving last summer? We found that little abandoned lake, with the super cold water. It was awesome."

Kara had to force herself to not glance at Lee, because she was sure if she did, she would blush. She definitely remembered that lake… "Yeah, I know where you're talking about," she said casually.

"Sounds like fun," Michael commented. "Lee?"

"Yeah," he said quickly, and Kara could have sworn he was trying not to react in a suspicious way as well. "Seems like a great plan."

***

When Jean mentioned the lake, it had taken all of Lee's willpower to keep from doing something that would raise alarm bells in other people's heads. He noticed that Kara purposefully didn't look at him, and he was grateful, because if she had it would have made not reacting a lot harder, if not impossible.

"Bathing suits?" Michael asked, interrupting Lee's thoughts.

Kara looked at him and shrugged. "I don't care. Jump in naked if you want."

Michael rolled his eyes and Lee fought back a laugh. "Well I was thinking either bathing suits or clothes." He turned to look at Lee questioningly.

Lee shrugged his shoulders. "I'm just going to wear my shorts."

"Me too," Zak piped in.

"Bra and shorts all the way," Jean added, winking at the boys. Lee wasn't surprised when Zak flushed—after all, only a few minutes ago he'd been completely star struck by her presence.

Lee however did risk a quick glance at Kara, who winked at him before saying. "I'm with Jean."

Michael sighed. "Fine, I'll give in to peer pressure."

Lee saw Kara roll her eyes at her brother. "Whatever," she said. She headed for the fridge and started tossing water bottles at everyone before heading towards the door. "Let's go."

Lee was the last out the door and was about to lock up when he noticed something sitting forgotten on the kitchen table—Kara must have set it down. He smiled to himself as he grabbed it before dashing out the door.

The rest of the group were piling into Michael's car as he was telling Kara that she'd better know where she was going because he didn't want to get lost. Kara's reply was more than a little snarky, and involved reminding Michael of a time when he'd been the one driving around for the Delphi countryside for hours on end with no clue where he was going. He groaned and muttered something under his breath as he climbed into the driver's seat and closed the door.

Lee quickly hopped into the only vacant spot, which was the passenger's seat. When he turned to look in the back seat of the car he saw Zak squished between Kara and Jean, looking pleased. He laughed at his brother. "Happy back there?" He teased.

Zak smiled back, looking a little guilty. Kara and Jean glanced at each other for a moment before simultaneously wrapping their arms around Zak and squishing up against him.

"Of course he's happy, Lee," Kara said in what Lee considered to be her best flirtatious tone.

Jean ruffled Zak's hair, making it stand on end in weird ways. "Yeah, Lee, I mean he's sitting the back seat of a car with two famous pyramid players." Jean's voice pretty much matched Kara's.

"One famous pyramid player, one ex-pyramid player," Kara corrected.

"Oh, whatever. I don't think Zak here is too caught up on the technicalities."

Zak flushed slightly, and both women released him as Michael started the car. Once they had pulled down the long driveway, passing both Kara's truck and Jean's car on the way, Lee held opened the CD case and popped the disc out. He held it up in the air. "Look what we almost forgot," he said, purposefully looking at Kara and holding her gaze.

She gave him a mock glare. "I didn't mean to forget it, honest…" Except her voice was so laced with false sincerity that Lee had no doubt she'd tried to leave it behind on purpose. However, he knew that Kara wasn't really that self-conscious of a person. If he'd thought it was truly going to bug her, he wouldn't have brought it.

Kara sighed. "Go ahead," she said, obviously resigning herself to her fate. "Put it in."

"I have actually never heard your band play," Michael said as he stopped at an intersection. "Which way?" He questioned the two women in the back seat.

"Right," they both said at the same time.

"They're really good," Jean told Michael. "I honestly used to listen to this CD all the time. Well, at least until I lost it amongst all my crap."

Lee watched as Kara shifted in her seat, possibly a little uncomfortable. "Jean…"

"Seriously, Kara. When I told you that I loved it, I wasn't lying. I also burned an extra copy before I left my apartment, so I still have one."

"We were okay, but I don't know if we were that good."

Jean rolled her eyes. "Modest much? When's the last time you even listened to it anyway?"

Kara shrugged. "I don't know, like a couple of years ago."

Jean shook her head. "Well, maybe you have a faulty memory, because you guys were great." Then Jean turned her attention back to the front seat, and consequently Lee. "Put it in," she prompted.

"Right," Lee said quickly, as he realized that he'd been distracted watching Kara. He thought he might have seen Zak give him an odd look as he turned to put the disc into the car's stereo system, but he ignored it.

As Lee was inserting the CD, Michael asked, "So what did you do in the band?"

"Guitar and vocals," Kara stated.

Lee could see Michael's eyebrows rise a little in surprise, but before he had a chance to say anything the first notes of the opening song came through over the speakers. Lee turned up the volume until it was loud, but not exceptionally so.

For the next thirty-five minutes, the entire way to the parking lot by the lake, the car was pretty much silent except for the music playing. Lee listened to the songs, especially the lyrics, carefully. He knew that Kara had written the majority of her band's material, and although he expected them to be good, he honestly hadn't anticipated that he would like the music as much as he did.

It was rock music, and although Lee wasn't exactly a huge rock aficionado, even he could tell that the level of the musical skill was high for a high school band. The recording on the CD wasn't the highest quality, but the band's talent shone through in spite of that.

The CD finished, and looped back to the first song. Michael turned the volume down after parking the car in the empty lot. He turned to look at Lee, and Lee could tell his friend was just as impressed as he was.

"Kara, that was amazing." Michael said sincerely.

She shrugged her shoulders as everyone looked at her, but she was smiling. "It was a bit better than I remember. But it wasn't just me, there were three other people in the band too."

"Still…" Michael said.

Lee then noticed that Kara was looking at him. He smiled at her. "Seriously, Kara, it was great. Plus the fact that you wrote most of the songs…"

"You wrote them?" Michael asked, surprised.

Kara nodded, still smiling. "Over three-quarters of them, yeah."

"Wow," Michael responded. "I guess one of us was bound to inherit Dad's musical talent."

Kara laughed. "I guess so. Anyway," she said, changing the topic. "Are we just going to sit here, or are we going to go cliff diving?"

***

The walk around to the far side of the lake where the cliff face was took somewhere between an additional twenty to thirty minutes. Kara was definitely glad that they'd brought bottled water with them. The late afternoon sun wasn't totally unbearable, but it was warm enough.

When they reached the bottom of the path that lead up to the top of the cliff they ditched their water bottles, and whatever clothing they weren't planning on wearing in the water. This way they wouldn't need to climb back up to retrieve their things once they tired of cliff diving.

Kara and Jean stripped down to their bras and shorts, while the boys wore just their shorts. The climb up to the top followed a skinny path that was half carved into the rock face and filled with switchbacks. Kara, however, didn't hesitate and led the way.

She was breathing quite heavily by the time she reached the top, and she could feel beads of sweat forming on her lower back, directly above the waistband of her shorts. However, she knew that it would be more than worth it. Once everyone was up, they all moved towards the edge and peered over.

Kara had to admit, it looked much higher once at the top.

"Uh, are we sure this is the same place as last time?" Jean asked warily. "It's just, it looks… higher than I remember."

Zak was grinning. "This is going to be awesome."

Lee looked excited, but perhaps a little bit nervous, and Michael on the other hand seemed about on the same level as Jean—possibly about to chicken out.

Kara grinned. "All right, who's going first?"

Michael took a large step away from the edge. "I don't know…"

Kara rolled her eyes at him. "You'll be fine. Jean and I did this last year, and neither of us died. Hell, we didn't even get hurt, though I certainly wouldn't recommend trying a belly flop from this height, because that would hurt like a bitch."

When no one offered to go first, Kara shrugged her shoulders. "Fine, I'll go."

She walked about ten paces back, and then sprinted for the edge of the cliff, launching herself off from the ledge. She let out an adrenaline-fueled scream as she free fell for about the half the distance, before turning into the air so that she could enter the water in a dive.

Her hands broke through the surface and her body sluiced through the almost painfully cool water. When she broke through to the air again, she looked up and saw the others looking down at her. She pushed the wet hair out of her eyes before waving. They waved back and she started to swim towards the side of the cliff face, where there was a short cut that joined up with the path. Just as she was about to pull herself out of the water she saw Lee take the next running leap.

She watched, smiling as Lee copied her jump, with the exception of waiting until the very last possible second before turning to enter the water hands first. Show off. Although she didn't have to, she waited for him at the edge of the lake.

"Fun?" She asked, once he was within hearing distance.

Lee nodded as he swam up beside her. "Definitely."

By the time her and Lee were halfway back up the cliff face, Zak had already jumped and was started to climb back up, but neither Jean nor Michael had gone.

"You guys aren't going to chicken out, are you?" She asked, when she reached the top.

Jean was peering down over the ledge again. "Seriously, man, this is way higher than last year."

Kara laughed. "I don't exactly think that it grew."

Michael still looked just a leery.

"Don't tell me you aren't going to go either," Kara said in a disappointed tone.

Michael sighed, and then turned to look at Jean. "Tell you what," he said. "I'll go if you go."

Jean turned her attention back to Michael. "Damn. Now that you've made it a challenge, there's no way I'm going to back down." She sighed and moved back from the edge a few paces. "Fine. Here goes nothing."

Jean ran for the edge, and launched off it, perhaps not as gracefully as the others had, but it worked. The funny part was how she screamed the entire way down, the sound only being cut off when she had to hold her breath to go under water. Kara shook her head.

Michael looked at the rest of them for a moment. "She's kind of crazy, isn't she?"

Kara nodded and Lee just smiled.

Michael sighed. "Guess it's my turn."

Given that he'd been on the high school swimming team, it wasn't exactly a surprise that Michael's dive was entirely fluid, and that when he entered into the water he caused much less of a splash than the rest of them had.

Kara looked at Lee, only to find him already staring at her. "Again?" He asked, grinning.

She couldn't help but be momentarily distracted by the drops of water trailing down Lee's chest. After a second she managed to force her eyes back up to his face and respond, "Hell yeah."

***

Lee lost count of how many times they jumped, climbed back up, and jumped again. But at some point that must have been at least an hour or two later, they collectively decided that although this was amazingly fun, they were getting tired of the climb, not to mention that they were starving. Michael suggested pizza, beer and a movie, which got them rushing to jump into the icy cold water one last time.

After he climbed out, Lee heading for the pile of clothing and picked out his shirt. Instead of putting it back on he opted for using it as a towel. When he finished drying off his chest, he suddenly found the shirt disappearing from his hands. He was not surprised when he turned and saw that Kara was the one who had taken it. After she finished using it as a towel too, she handed it back to him.

"What?" She asked, smirking as she spoke. "I wasn't going to use my shirt." She grabbed her tank top from the ground and pulled it on over her head.

Lee simply shook his head and had to bite back a laugh.

Once everyone had grabbed their things, they headed back along the path around the lake to the parking lot. Somehow Lee found himself walking beside Kara at the lead. A quick glance over his shoulder told him that the others were following, but were several paces back.

"So that was fun," he said to Kara as they rounded a corner.

She smiled at him and nodded. "It was. Your brother had a pretty good idea."

"Did you know he was coming?" Lee asked.

Kara shook her head. "No, I was just as surprised as you were. It explains why Michael was acting so weird though."

Lee smiled. "That it does."

Kara looked him over closely and he eyed her back. "What?" He asked.

She grinned. "You're really happy that he's here, aren't you?"

Lee nodded. He supposed it was fairly obvious. He didn't think that he'd stopped smiling for most of the day. "I am. Not seeing Zak was one of the few things I regretted about not going home for the summer."

"Do you think maybe you should have gone home?" Kara inquired, hesitating only slightly. "I mean, it sounds like your dad actually listened to what you told him over the semester break."

Lee sobered immediately, as he focused on what Zak had said earlier. "It does sound like that."

He would have needed to be blind to miss the concerned look on Kara's face. His stomach twisted with something entirely unrelated to Zak or his father, but he forced himself to remember that friends should be, and usually were concerned about each other. How Kara was staring at him right now was nothing more than that.

"What the hell is going through your mind right now?" Kara asked him, obviously confused by his silence.

He pushed all unrelated thoughts aside. "I just… I don't know. It seems like it's too good to be true. My dad's stubborn. He usually never listens. I've fought with him before, and it never once made a difference, so why this time?"

"You did say that it was the worst fight you'd ever had."

Lee nodded. "It's true…" He couldn't help but still be a little wary though.

"Maybe he just finally listened to you." Kara suggested, and Lee wondered if it was really that simple.

"You think?" He couldn't help but be hopeful, because as much as Lee argued with his dad and hated specific things about him, he was still his dad. He wasn't a horrible person, not really. Sure he'd made his mistakes, but everyone frakked up, it was a fact of life.

Kara nodded. "Look, I've never met your dad, I don't know him. But that is what it sounds like."

Lee smiled at her. "I should be happy, right?"

Kara smiled back. "I think you should."

***

Michael was in the middle of talking to Jean about something, when a laugh from directly behind them interrupted him. Both Michael and Jean turned to look at Zak, who was at the back of their little group.

"Sorry," the younger Adama said. "It's just so frakking obvious." His eyes flicked up to where Kara and Lee were walking ahead of them, but Michael was confused.

However, Jean wasn't. She laughed too. "I know, right? They totally think they're hiding it."

Zak shook his head. "Man, they are doing a crappy job."

Michael looked back and forth between Jean and Zak, still not getting it. "What are you guys talking about?"

Zak looked at him skeptically, like he was trying to determine whether Michael was pulling his leg or not. "You seriously don't know?"

Jean stared at him in much the same way as Zak. "Really? I thought that you must have figured it out by now."

"Figured what out?" Michael asked, his voice a little loud; he couldn't help it, he was getting frustrated.

"Shh," Jean told him, her eyes glittering mischievously. "We can at least let them think they're keeping it a secret."

Zak laughed again, obviously amused by Jean's words for some unknown reason.

"What the hell are you two going on about?" Michael asked in a hurried, but quiet voice.

"Wow," Zak said slowly, staring at Michael intently. "You really don't have any idea…"

Michael sighed in frustration. "No, obviously I don't."

Zak smiled. "They're frakking."

"Who's frakking?"

Jean laughed, angling her head up towards Kara and Lee. Then she raised her eyebrows as if to say, 'isn't it obvious?'

"Wait," Michael said as he began to catch up in the conversation. "Kara and Lee?"

Zak and Jean shared another knowing grin.

"But…" Michael could not wrap his head around this. His best friend and his sister? It was just… weird. "How do you know?" He looked to Jean first.

She looked a tad bit uncomfortable for a moment. "Officially I'm not saying anything of course. But even if I was a third party completely unbiased observer, I would have put together the signs to come to the conclusion that, yes, they are sleeping together."

"It's obvious, Michael," Zak told him. "They've been flirting all day. Trying to make it seem like they weren't, mind you, but flirting nonetheless."

"Not to mention they can't keep their eyes off each other," Jean added in.

"And I saw Kara put her hand on Lee's knee earlier, when she thought no one was looking."

Michael stared ahead of him, watching his sister and his friend closely. The entire time they talked their eyes were locked together. They were close enough that every stride caused their arms to brush against each other, yet neither one seemed to mind at all. Kara was smiling non-stop, and Lee was grinning like an idiot back at her.

"Holy frak," he said under his breath as he saw things in an entirely new light for the first time that summer. "How the hell did I miss that?" He asked, more to himself than his present company, though they answered anyway.

"Selective vision?" Zak suggested.

"Or maybe you're just completely unobservant," Jean offered.

It didn't really matter how or why he'd missed it, because now it was all too glaringly clear, and everything seemed to make a lot more sense. Lee not wanting to go out with him, refusing to try and pick up girls at the bar, preferring to stay at the house when Michael went away for the weekend… Kara not going out nearly as much as normal, always doing stuff with Lee…

How the hell had he not noticed it sooner?

TBC


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N:** *waves timidly* Yes I am still alive and I am still writing. I apologize profusely for the delay in getting this chapter posted. I could give you many a reason why, but how about instead I just keep my lips closed and let you read? ;)

**Chapter 16**

The rest of the way back to the car, Michael remained in a half state of shock. Now that someone else had shed light on things for him, what was going on between his sister and Lee was so frakking obvious. He honestly had no idea how he had not picked up on it before. He supposed that maybe he'd been so blind to it because he'd never thought of the possibility. But now it was like every little thing either Kara or Lee did only solidified the realization in his mind.

Other than the shock, Michael supposed he should probably be angry with them for not telling him. Kara not saying anything to him wasn't really a surprise; after all they had only recently started to actually get to know one another. Lee on the other hand… he should have said something. Lee was Michael's best friend, and had been since Year Four of grade school. They'd known each other for what seemed like forever and they had shared secrets for just as long.

When they arrived in the parking lot, Michael dug around in his pocket for the car keys and unlocked the doors so that everyone could pile in. The group talked amiably as Michael drove them back to the house. He added in a few comments here and there, but for the most part he wasn't feeling that chatty. A couple of times he noticed Jean eyeing him oddly from the passenger seat. He could only guess that it was about what Zak and her had revealed to him.

After pulling into the driveway they all made their way inside. Kara headed straight for the phone to order pizza while the others walked into the living room. Michael followed them towards the movie collection, but just sat back and watched as they picked out a couple of films to watch.

"These ones sound good to you?" Lee asked, passing the two movie cases over to Michael.

Michael scanned the titles quickly. He'd seen both of them years ago, and as far as he remembered he'd enjoyed them. "Sure," he assented, passing them back to his friend.

Lee smiled and was turning to put the first movie in the player when Kara walked into the living room. "Pizza will be here in half an hour," she told them happily. She took a seat on the arm of the couch, right next to where Lee was standing. Lee paused what he was doing and stared down at her, their eyes locking. "Sounds good," he stated, before turning back to his previous task.

"How about some beer?" Jean asked, purposefully catching Michael's eye as she said this. Michael raised an eyebrow in question but replied, "Yeah, sure," and headed towards the kitchen with Jean following him.

As they got to work pulling several bottles out of the fridge, Jean asked, "You okay with this?"

Michael put down the beer in his hands on the counter and looked through to the living room, where Kara and Lee were now both seated on the couch. He could only see the backs of their heads from the way the furniture was positioned, but he could imagine that their legs were probably touching, and their shoulders were brushing up against one another.

He sighed as he turned to look at Jean. "I don't know," he said. "I get this feeling like I should be really angry with them, especially Lee, but it's like I haven't decided if I'm mad or not."

Jean stared at him. "You have every right to be pissed at both of them."

"But…" Michael prompted, knowing that there was something hanging left unsaid that Jean wanted to tag on.

She smiled. "But maybe there's a reason they didn't tell you."

"Like what?"

Jean chuckled under her breath. "Like neither of them have quite figured out what this thing between them is yet. They probably just don't want to put you in a position where you feel awkward. If, or when, it ends they probably don't want you to feel like you're caught in between."

Michael sighed and played with one of the bottles of beer on the counter, using it as a distraction. "Yeah…"

"Plus," Jean added on, her voice taking on a more joking tone. "Can you really picture Lee coming up to you and saying 'Hey, Michael. Frakked your sister last night. Just thought you should know, because she was awesome'."

Michael stared at the ball player for two seconds before he let out a laugh. Jean joined him. "No, I definitely can't picture that," he said.

Jean smiled, but her face had taken on a more serious appearance. "Look, just let them figure things out. If this turns into something serious, they'll tell you."

Michael felt himself freeze momentarily. "Do you think it will turn serious?" He couldn't quite wrap his mind around that yet.

Jean shrugged, but she was still smiling. "All I know is that there is some definite chemistry between the two of them. And this is the happiest I've ever seen Kara. I think Lee's good for her."

Michael nodded as he let Jean's words sink in. "Come to think of it, this is the happiest I've seen Lee in a long time, maybe ever."

Jean grinned, loading the beer bottles back into her hands. "Maybe Kara's just as good for Lee."

Michael smiled, slowly finding himself warming to the idea. "Yeah, I think you're right."

***

To Lee it seemed like Zak's visit had passed in the blink of the eye. It was almost as if one second Zak was making his appearance in the Thrace's kitchen and the next Lee was dropping him off at the airport two days later.

As they walked in the main doors, Zak immediately spotted the baggage check in counter and headed towards it. Lee followed half a step behind. Instead of entering into the back of the line, Zak stepped a little off to the side and set down one of his bags as he turned to look at his brother. Lee smiled at Zak and set down the other bag that he'd been carrying.

"I guess I'll see you later then," Zak said slowly.

Lee didn't miss the unasked question in his words. "Next semester break, I promise."

Zak had obviously been expecting that answer, as he just shook his head and smiled. "Don't even feel like stopping by for a few days before you head back to Picon?"

Lee shrugged as if to say 'maybe', but both brothers knew it really meant 'no'. In many ways Lee wished he could convince himself to stop by for a visit. It would be great to see Zak again, not to mention his mother who he hadn't seen in months. But his dad would still be there due to Galactica's extended overhaul, and although it seemed like he may have actually listened after their last fight, Lee wasn't sure that he was quite up to facing him yet.

"At the winter break for sure," Lee stated.

"You realize I'm going to hold you to that?" Zak asked, still smiling.

Lee chuckled softly. "Oh, I'm sure you will." Lee looked at Zak for a few seconds before pulling him into a tight embrace, which Zak returned fully. "Take care of yourself," Lee said. He knew that Zak was a grown man now and was in many ways probably more prepared to handle what life had to offer than Lee himself was. But there was always going to be a part of him that saw Zak as his baby brother who needed protecting.

Zak pulled back, but kept his hands firmly grasping the tops of Lee's shoulders. "You too," he said seriously.

Lee smiled. "I'll do my best."

Zak smiled back as he picked up his two bags and took a step towards the back of the baggage line. "And Lee?"

"Yeah."

"Remember what I said. About Kara."

Inside Lee felt his gut twist uncomfortably, but on the outside he pretended to just shrug it off. "Yeah, okay…"

"I'm serious, Lee," Zak added before he began to walk. When he stopped at the back of the short line, he turned to look over his shoulder at Lee. "Winter break," he said, just loudly enough that his voice carried to where Lee was still standing.

Lee nodded. "Winter break."

***

When Lee exited the airport and headed for the parking lot he couldn't stop his thoughts from returning to what Zak had said about Kara. He got into Michael's car, which he'd borrowed in order to drop Zak off, and his mind returned to the night before when Zak had been packing up his things and Lee had been sitting on the bed talking to him.

_"So," Zak said slowly as he stuffed a rolled up shirt into the bottom of his duffel bag. "Kara."_

_Lee had to stop himself from gulping nervously. During the course of Zak's visit there had been a few times when he felt his brother watching him closely, especially when he was around Kara, which was most of the time._

"_What about Kara?" Lee asked calmly._

_Zak paused folding a pair of shorts for two seconds to stare at Lee intently. Then he smiled and went back to packing. "She's pretty awesome," Zak said._

_Lee nodded. "Yeah, I guess she is," he replied, pretending that this was something he was just noticing, not something he'd figured out several weeks ago._

"_Anything going on between you two?" Zak questioned._

_Even though there was a hint of knowing in his brother's voice, Lee denied it. "We're friends, Zak."_

"_That's it?"_

_Lee nodded once. "That's it."_

_Zak's next question caught Lee completely off guard. "So it would be okay if I asked her out?"_

_Lee's reaction was immediate and entirely uncontrolled. All of his muscles tightened. It felt like someone had just pulled his feet out from under him, but he hadn't hit the ground and was just cringing, waiting for the agonizing impact._

_Zak turned his attention away from his packing completely. "You are such a liar," he accused, and Lee knew he was busted. "There is way more between you and Kara than just friendship."_

_Lee forced himself to relax as he realized that Zak wasn't actually interested in Kara, but rather testing how he felt about her. "No, Zak, it really is just friendship." Under his brother's intent stare he added, "With benefits."_

_Zak snorted. "Well it's obvious that the two of you are sleeping together."_

_Lee tensed up again. "What the hell are you talking about? It is not obvious."_

_Zak laughed. "Actually, it's really obvious. Lee, I figured it out within two hours of being here."_

_Lee sighed in defeat. "Okay, so we're sleeping together. It's not a big deal."_

_Zak shrugged. "Well, it wouldn't be if it weren't for the fact that you've obviously fallen in love with her."_

_Lee clenched his fists in the anger of denial. "No. Kara and I are friends, Zak. Friends."_

"_What, you can't fall in love with a friend?" He fired back, his voice tensing up._

_Lee sighed, knowing where Zak was headed with this. "That's not what I meant, Zak. But Kara and I are _just _friends."_

_One of the few things that Lee hated about his brother was that he, like Lee, had inherited the Adama stubbornness gene. "Look. Maybe you haven't realized it yet, but you love her. I can see it on your face every time you look at her."_

"_Zak—" Lee said quickly, trying to cut him off, but it didn't work._

"_No, Lee, listen. You're my big brother and I know you. I know you've never been in love before, so maybe that's why you're not seeing this for what it really is. But I have been in love and I can see it."_

_Lee immediately went on the defensive. "That was in high school Zak. You don't know what you're talking about."_

"_So just because Lacy and I fell in love in high school, that makes it not real?" Zak fumed, and Lee felt a surge of guilt at bringing up the most painful part of Zak's past. "It doesn't matter how old I was, what I felt for her was genuine. I loved her. Hell, I still love her. And I would do anything in the world to get her back."_

"_Zak, I didn't mean to…"_

_The look Zak sent Lee's way shut him up. Zak took two purposeful deep breaths and he quickly regained his composure. He may have inherited the Adama stubbornness, but not the temper._

_"I do know what I'm talking about, Lee. I know that even if I had the chance to go back and not get involved with Lacy at all, and save myself all the future pain, I wouldn't take it for anything." Zak took another deep breath. "Just don't do something that you're going to regret, okay? Kara is amazing; you've already seen that. I can tell that she makes you happy. I just don't know why you're fighting it."_

After that Zak had miraculously let the subject drop and they'd returned to chatting about inane things. Lee had purposefully shoved their conversation to the back of his head and not thought about it at all, and hadn't been planning to revisit it until Zak's words in the airport had brought it back to the front of his mind.

If there was one thing that Zak had been right about it was that Lee had never fallen in love. He'd dated, sure. In high school and in university, and there'd even been a couple girls in his first year at the Academy. But none of it had been serious; none of it had lead to, or even had the possibility of leading to love. Lee wasn't good at anything past casual relationships, which was why he wasn't going to try with Kara.

He also wasn't going to convince himself that this thing with her was anything more than it was. If he did that, then he would inevitably screw things up between them. And he liked how things were, he didn't want them change.

No, Zak was wrong. Lee and Kara were just friends with benefits. Though Lee wondered if it would be easier to believe if he didn't need to keep reminding himself of the fact.

***

Kara had just returned from her run and was scavenging the fridge for a bottle of water when she heard a car pull up in the driveway. She smiled, knowing that it was Lee back from dropping Zak off at the airport. She had liked Zak, and as a group they'd had a lot of fun. But even though it had only been a couple of days, she missed the moments when she had Lee all to herself. Not just the sex, but the hanging out too. And the running.

It was the first morning she'd had to go running on her own since Lee arrived, due to Zak's early flight. She'd been very tempted to just hold off until Lee got back, but he had been courteous and told her not to wait. She'd also wanted to prove to herself that her motivation for getting up so early each day was fitness, not seeing Lee.

However it turned out that she didn't prove anything, because quite frankly running on her own was much less satisfying than running with Lee. Several times that morning she'd had to force herself to keep going and not turn around early. She didn't quite know what she wanted to make out of that piece of knowledge, so she stored it away to think about another day, one in the near future. After all, there was limited time left before she had to make up her mind about Lee.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the back door opening and closing. She turned around and closed the fridge door just in time to see Lee kick off his shoes and walk in through the boot room.

"Hey," she said happily, though not too loudly because Michael was undoubtedly still sleeping.

Lee smiled at her. "Hey."

Right away she could tell that there was something on his mind. "Uh, you okay?" She asked as she walked towards him, abandoning the water bottle on the counter.

Lee looked guilty, as if he was a little boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you going to miss him?" Kara asked, guessing that this was about Zak's departure.

"Huh?" Lee said, but quickly followed it with, "Yeah, I'm going to miss him."

Suddenly she wasn't sure if this was even about Zak, but she let it slide for the time being. "So, are you still coming tonight?"

Lee smiled. "To your dad's concert? Yeah, I'm really looking forward to it. I've never seen him conduct before."

Kara smiled. "It should be good. A little too formal and stuck up for my liking, but it'll be okay."

Lee laughed. "Yeah, there's even a dress code. Something tells me the normal jeans and tank top combination isn't going to work for you here," he teased.

Kara stuck her tongue out at him. "Bite me."

Lee grinned as he closed the distance between them and took her in his arms, angling his head to nip at her neck lightly. She smacked him on the shoulder and the sound resonated in the otherwise quiet kitchen.

"Owe," Lee said, still smiling as he pulled back to stare at her.

Kara slid her arms into place around his neck and gave him a mock glare. "I didn't mean literally."

Lee grinned. "Sorry, I got confused."

"Uh huh," she said as she shifted even closer to him. Her breasts were pressed against his chest and her hips bumped against his. She could feel how turned on he was and she grinned back.

Lee shrugged his shoulders, totally unabashed by his physical reaction to her, which in turn only turned Kara on more.

"It's not my fault you distract me," Lee said and Kara felt a blush threatening to rise on her cheeks.

"I distract you, do I?"

Lee closed the distance between their lips and kissed her lightly. "Always."

The simple short-lived contact wasn't enough, and Kara threaded one hand in Lee's hair, pulling his mouth back to hers for a much more heated kiss.

***

When Kara kissed him back, Lee gave into the inevitable and let himself get lost in the passion. Suddenly nothing else mattered. Not the fact that Michael was upstairs, not the conversation he'd had with Zak, nothing. The only thing he could focus on was the amazing woman who was kissing him to within an inch of his life, and who wanted him just as much as he wanted her.

The next thing Lee knew his hands were pressed against Kara's stomach and sliding up until they hit the bottom trim of her sports bra. Thankfully, due to her minimal running attire, there was no shirt to hinder him. He didn't hesitate and slid both hands beneath the old fabric to cup her breasts. Kara arched her back slightly, causing her breasts to push against Lee's hands more firmly.

Lee began to massage lightly with both of his hands while he dropped his mouth to her neck, immediately finding the spot that drove her crazy. As he sucked lightly Kara whimpered in pleasure, a sound that made Lee even harder. She clung to his shoulders as he tormented her further. When he knew that she was just about to climax, he eased off and returned his mouth to hers.

Kara kissed him back so fiercely he was surprised that his legs didn't give out beneath him. Her hands dropped to the waistband of his shorts as her tongue explored his mouth fervently. In seconds his shorts and boxers were around his ankles and Kara had one hand wrapped around his erection. It took all of his effort to not come at that moment.

She stroked his length several times while Lee held his breath, trying to keep control. Then she moved her hands to his shoulders and maneuvered them in the direction of the nearest chair. Once Lee's mind caught up with his body and he realized what she was doing, they managed to stumble the rest of the way to the chair and Lee sat down.

His hands remained on Kara's waist as she quickly made work of her running shorts and underwear. The next thing Lee knew Kara was standing in front of him, naked except for her bra.

Catching her gaze, their eyes remained locked as Kara straddled his lap, slowly sinking down onto him. They both let out a gasp of pleasure as she came to a stop, his cock buried deep inside her.

For a few seconds they remained like that, motionless and holding each other's gaze. Then neither of them had the restraint to hold back any longer and Kara leaned down, capturing Lee's lips with her own once again. He moaned into her mouth as she began slowly move up and down, while rotating her hips in a way that would have neither of them lasting very long.

Lee kept one hand wrapped in the short strands of hair at the back of Kara's neck, prompting her to not stop the kiss. His other hand dropped down between them, to the place where they were joined.

As Kara continued to move up and down over his erection, Lee lightly caressed her clit. The moment he touched it he could feel Kara's walls tighten around him and she whimpered into his mouth. He didn't stop. He brushed his thumb around it in circles that matched the frequency of her hips.

In a matter of seconds they were moaning each other's names as they climaxed together.

TBC


	17. Author's Note

I know that there are at least a few people wondering about the status of Summer Nights. Over the past few weeks I've had some inquiries about it, so I thought I should post a note.

When I took a break from writing earlier this year it was just because I was so busy with school and a major international trip that I just didn't have the time I needed to dedicate to writing. I fully had every intention of continuing on with Summer Nights once things slowed down for me. However, now that things are a bit slower, I hate to say it, but I'm not sure when or if I will continue with the story. My motivation for writing just isn't there anymore. I probably could force myself to write the remaining chapters, but I know doing that would mean shitty material. I'd rather write the best chapters I can, or not write them at all.

I did consider the option of just wrapping up the story with a chapter or two and forgoing my original plan for it. But the only thing I don't like about this, is that further down the road if inspiration does strike, I won't be able to finish it the way I had planned. I really am hoping that some day I will complete it, but I'm not making any promises.

In short, the story is on an indefinite hiatus for now.

Also, thank you to everyone who is still interested in Summer Nights after all this time. If I end up continuing on at some point in the future, I'll post the chapters in the same places I have been since the beginning (my livejournal, lj comms, and here on fanfiction . net), so they should be easy enough to find.

Lastly, I'm really sorry about this. I hope that people understand though.

~Nytel


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